Umbilical cord blood has been found to have some very special properties that can be used in treating certain types of blood related diseases like leukemia, anemia etc.

The cord blood has been found to be a rich source of stem cells which are fresh and can grow into healthy blood cells.

The advantage of using cord blood to solve stem cell related problems is also due to the fact that it can be obtained in a very easy and safe manner, can be stored in a cord blood bank for long time and can be retrieved and used in case of stem cell transplant.

The place where the cord blood is preserved and stored is called a cord blood stem cell bank. After the baby’s birth, the cord blood will be collected and will be tested for various criteria – whether the amount is of a useful quantity, whether it contains the required number of stem cells, whether the blood is free of any infections or any other problems, before the bank will decide to store the blood.

One of the reasons for such tests is that storing the cord blood by the stem cell bank is an expensive procedure as it requires special equipment, chemicals and storage containers.

Thus, before storing the cord blood, the stem cell bank will ensure that the blood is eligible and can be used for future transplant operations.

Once it is confirmed that the cord blood can be used in stem cell transplants, the bank will add the required chemicals that will ensure that the blood cells are preserved and then it will store the blood in special containers where it is frozen.

The bank will also do a tissue type matching on the blood and will publish the information so that it is available for people who are in need for cord blood and are searching for a matching blood.

Cord blood stem cell bank centers are of two types – Public and private banks. While a public stem cell bank will store the cord blood and will issue it to any matching recipient, in a private cord blood stem cell bank, the donor has a facility to reserve the cord blood for their own private use.

This kind of reservation of the cord blood requires a certain amount of fee to be paid by the donor and the blood will be preserved and stored till the donor requests it