Securing cord blood in subsequent pregnancies

The world’s first stem cell transplant was performed on October 8, 1988.   Matthew Farrow, 5 years old at the time, received hematopoietic stem cells from his younger sister’s umbilical cord blood. Matthew is alive and well and to this day is a promoter of the use of cord blood in medical treatment. Since the first administration, cord blood has been used more than 40,000 times. The source of stem cells is both your own cord blood and that from a compatible donor ( e.g. siblings). Data from the Polish Stem Cell Bank indicate that 30% of patients have benefited from their own cord blood ( as of 08.2020).

Having secured umbilical cord blood from an older child, is there no need to collect with another pregnancy?

No, this is a common myth. Whether stem cells from a donor or one’s own are used for treatment always depends on the type of disease. We never know if and what kind of disease will occur in our family, so it is worth thinking about ensuring that each child coming into the world has its own biological material taken.

Use of own cord blood – in which cases

 In 2019, the FamiCord Group founded by PBKM has established a therapeutic program for the use of its own (autologous), stem cells from cord blood in the treatment of cerebral palsy. This condition is the most common cause of disability in children, so it makes all the more sense to secure biological material with each pregnancy. Noteworthy, the administration of one’s own cord blood was previously possible at a renowned center in the US (Duke University Hospital), which involved not only considerable costs, but also the entire process of arranging such treatment abroad. The Cord Blood Donation Program for Brain Development gives young patients the opportunity to receive such therapy in Poland at the University Children’s Hospital in Lublin.

Cerebral palsy is one of several diseases for which having your own cord blood is applicable.  Other examples include severe aplastic anemia, brain tumor, bone tumor and others. The biggest advantage of using your own stem cells is the fact of complete tissue (genetic) compatibility. This not only reduces the time needed to search for a compatible donor, but most importantly neutralizes the risks associated with rejection of material and the negative effects of transplantation. There is no need to wait and look for a donor, or to check HLA compatibility. This makes the implementation of therapy faster, and it is often the timing of treatment initiation that matters most.

Own cord blood is not enough – use of cord blood in siblings

The use of cord blood from siblings is possible in many diseases, such as leukemia, other cancers, and hereditary immune system disorders. A prerequisite for the use of material in siblings is a sufficient HLA antigen match ( genetic compatibility). Since the compatibility of sibling biological material is much easier with cord blood than with bone marrow, it can be treated as a safeguard not only for the child from whom it was collected but also for his or her siblings.  

Having several children, you can use the same crib for each of them, leave toys or clothes after the older sister or brother. But in the case of cord blood, it is important for each child to have such a “policy” for his needs and those of his siblings.  We don’t know the future, and we don’t know whether we will need our own stem cells or stem cells from a genetically compatible donor ( i.e. siblings, for example) for treatment, so it is worth securing the material at each birth.