Common Private Cord Blood Banking Myths Debunked
                     COMMON PRIVATE CORD BLOOD 
BANKING MYTHS DEBUNKED
NEWBORN UMBILICAL CORD 
 it is a medical bank where 
doctors extract the 
hematopoietic stem cells 
(HSCs) from the newborn 
umbilical cord and can be 
preserved indefinitely. You can 
bank the cord blood in a 
private or a public blood bank 
and can be used later on to 
treat diseases and illnesses. 
  This may sound like a 
wonderful medical 
breakthrough, but there are 
many myths about private 
cord blood banking making 
the rounds. Let us have a look 
at these myths and break the 
misconceptions clouding the 
minds of parents-to-be.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 Can It Harm My Baby Be 
Harmed?
       Collection of cord blood is 
in no way harmful to the 
baby or the mother. The 
blood that is discarded 
after birth normally is 
collected and stored at the 
cord blood bank.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 Private Cord Blood Banks 
May Send Our Baby’s Cord 
Blood for Research
This is a complete myth as 
private cord blood banks give 
exclusive accessibility and 
control to the cord blood you 
store. They charge you 
annually for storing the cord 
blood and will give you access 
as and when you require it in 
the future. Unlink public 
banks wherein the blood may 
be sent further for research 
purposes.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 Choose Any Cord Blood 
Bank, They Are All the Same
Wrong. Private blood banks 
have to follow stringent norms 
in terms of quality, cost, 
location, and need to be FDA-
approved and AABB-accredited. 
However, not all private blood 
banks have DA approval and 
AABB-accreditation. Those who 
have both, have high annual 
storage fees and better facilities 
to store your baby’s cord blood 
for a longer duration.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 It is Always Better to Store 
Cord Blood in Private Banks
Many to-be parents often think 
storing their baby’s cord blood in 
private banks is better than 
donating it to a public bank. If 
your family has a history of 
certain diseases and disorders, 
then choosing a private blood 
bank may sound logical. However, 
there is no such history and you 
don’t even know if you will ever 
need to access the stored cord 
blood, then donating the cord 
blood to a public bank is a wise 
decision.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 You Can’t Treat Your Child 
With His/ Her Own Blood 
as it May Be Diseased 
Itself
This statement does not hold 
much ground as autologous 
transplants have been in use 
for more than a decade. Use 
of one’s own stem cells has 
helped in the treatment of 
many diseases ranging from 
neuroblastoma, 
lymphoblastic leukemia, etc.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 Cord Blood can Remain 
Viable Only for 10 Years
Current studies have shown, 
stem cells stored for about 
24 years remained viable 
without any decrease in 
viability or proliferation. It is 
even claimed by 
cryopreservationists these 
cells can be stored 
indefinitely in a controlled 
environment.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 Cord Blood Banking And Ethical 
Issues
According to the Indian Council of 
Medical Research (ICMR), there are 
certain issues related to the self-use 
of cord blood as promoted by cord 
blood banks. The ICMR guidelines 
for stem cell research (2013) states 
there is no scientific basis for 
preservation of cord blood for future 
self-use. Thus, this practice is not 
officially recommended and any use 
other than bone marrow 
transplantation apart from clinical 
trials is termed as a medical 
malpractice.
PRIVATE CORD BLOOD BANKING 
MYTHS
 You Can Decide About Cord 
Blood Banking Just Before 
You Deliver
It is not a good idea to make a 
last-minute decision in most of 
the cases. Your hospital may not 
have a cord blood collection kit 
ready during the child’s birth. 
There are many logistics that 
need to be figured out before you 
can store the cord blood. Thus, 
make sure you enroll early to a 
cord blood bank of your choice 
for smooth and hassle free 
collection during the birthing 
process.
CONCLUSION:
 These are few of the 
common cord blood myths 
that are busted above. 
Cord blood does have 
many benefits in cases 
where there is a family 
history of leukemia or 
thalassemia. However, it 
will remain as a personal 
choice whether or not one 
should store the cord blood
.
REFERENCES:
 https://www.cordlifeindia.com/blog/commo
n-private-cord-blood-banking-myths-debun
ked
/
 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s1
2098-015-2026-6
 https://www.thebump.com/a/cord-blood-
myths