Vipul Jain

​​What is Cord Blood Banking? Cord blood (short for umbilical cord blood) is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta post-delivery. At or near term, there is a maternal–fetal transfer of cells to boost the immune systems of both the mother and baby in preparation for labor. This makes cord blood at the time of delivery a rich source of stem cells and other cells of the immune system. Cord blood banking is the process of collecting the cord blood and extracting and cryogenically freezing its stem cells and other cells of the immune system for potential future medical use. As cord blood is inter-related to cord blood banking, it is often a catch-all term used for the various cells that are stored. It may be surprising for some parents to learn that stored cord blood contains little of what people think of as "blood," as the red blood cells (RBCs) can actually be detrimental to a cord blood treatment. (As we'll discuss later, one of the chief go...

Blood is collected into a plastic bag for blood collection & storage which contains anticoagulant/buffers etc. which allow storage of blood. These include citrate-phosphate dextrose (CPD), acid-citrate dextrose (ACD), ACD or CPD with adenine to prolong red cell storage, and other preservative solutions like SAGM etc. If red cells are preserved in SAGM solution then their life goes upto 42 days. The CPD solution preserves whole blood for 21 days whereas CPDA solution preserves blood for 35 days. The material of the bag is biocompatible with blood cells and allows diffusion of gases permitting optimal cell preservation. The specimen thus collected is tested for hepatitis B & C, HIV and other infections. The blood is stored in refrigerators at 2 to 6 degrees C. Each unit of whole blood normally is separated into several components. Red blood cells may be stored under refrigeration for a maximum of 42 days, or they may be frozen for up to 10 years. Red cells carry oxygen and are us...

​​How Does Blood Clot? Blood clotting is also called  coagulation.  Hemostasis is a word for the process where a blood clot forms. Blood clots form to stop excess blood leaking from your body after you break or cut the surface of your skin. If a blood vessel (a capillary, vein or artery) is damaged (internally or by external injury like a cut) bleeding occurs until a clot forms. Once the site of injury has healed, the blood clot will naturally dissolve. If no blood clot forms it is called a hemorrhage. A hemorrhage is uncontrolled bleeding and can be highly dangerous. Hemophiliacs are people with a blood disorder where there blood does not clot. A small injury can lead to uncontrolled bleeding. In the 1960s, before treatment became available, the life expectancy of someone with hemophilia was just 11 years. Today fortunately, with regular infusions of clotting medications, most can expect to live a relatively normal life expectancy.

Nowhere in the world is transfused blood considered 100% safe. This, despite the fact that each unit of blood is mandatorily tested for infection, among other things, before transfusion. This happens because several infections, such as Hepatitis A, B, C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, have a window period during which the virus doesn’t show up in a blood test. So, if a person contracts the HIV today and decides to donate blood the next day, the laboratory that tests the blood will not detect the virus in it. The window period for HIV is usually between three weeks and three months, depending on the technology used at the laboratory. Even the best-available technology in the market right now – the Nucleic Acid Amplification Test – only reduces the window period to seven days. It does not entirely eliminate the risk. But India fares poorly Despite this limitation, many countries have not reported a case of HIV transmission through blood transfusion for years now. Canada...