Cord Blood Storage

What is umbilical cord blood and cord tissue?

Cord blood is the blood found in a newborn baby’s umbilical cord and cord tissue is a segment of the umbilical cord. Cord blood and cord tissue are a rich source of powerful stem cells that are the building blocks of the body.

What is it used for?

Worldwide, cord blood has been used in over 40,000 transplants for over 80 life threatening conditions. Stem cells can be used now for medical treatments, and there is an expanding range of new therapies being researched that anticipate using cord and tissue in the future, e.g. Cerebral Palsy, Autism and Type 1 Diabetes. Medical researchers are continually developing new cord-blood therapies, therefore the number of life-threatening diseases that may respond to cord-blood treatment is expected to continue to rise.

Why collect it?

Parents may choose to have their baby’s cord blood stem cells collected at the time of birth. Umbilical cord blood transfusions are currently being used in place of bone marrow transplants for many life threatening conditions such as blood cancers, immune system and metabolic disorders. Your baby’s cord blood stem cells are a perfect match for your child and are more likely to be a match for siblings.

How is it collected?

There is only one chance to collect and store your baby’s cord blood and tissue stem cells – at birth. If the umbilical cord is not collected for storage it is discarded as medical waste. The collection process is quick and painless for both mother and baby, and is performed by a trained Cell Care collector or obstetrician.

Need more information?

Create Health has an established association with Cell Care, a global leader in cord blood and tissue stem cell storage. Cell Care has stored for parents of over 40,000 babies and funds and provides Australians access to clinical trials. Cell Care has released cord blood for multiple therapies & clinical trials including neuroblastoma, cerebral palsy, acute myeloid leukaemia, T-Cell Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia & type 1 diabetes. This includes sibling and autologous for local and international therapies/trials.

For more information visit www.cellcare.com.au or call 1800 071 075.

Cell Care offers Create Health clients a storage voucher up to $500 in recognition of our partnership. Request more information from Cell Care to access your voucher codes.