Baby Stem Cells - Cord Blood & Tissue
Procedure
The following process is followed by Netcells:
- Registration
- Collection Kit
- Maternal Blood Tests
- Informing Your Obstetrician
- Birth and Collection of Cord Blood
- Collection of Cord Tissue
- Packaging and Courier
- Receipt at Laboratory
- Processing and Testing
- Cryogenic Freezing
- Storage
- Retrievals
1. Registration
You will need to register by completing a Client Registration Form. Complete the form and fax it back to (011) 697 2901 or email it to info@netcells.co.za. A non-refundable Collection Fee needs to be made to cover the costs of the collection kit and courier to the laboratory. A unique Client Registration Number will be issued to you, which secures you a specific place in the storage vault.
2. Collection Kit
One of our consultants will call you to arrange to meet with you personally to handover the Collection Kit and take you through the entire process.
3. Maternal Blood Tests
In terms of our Accreditation Standards, 1 set of maternal blood tests are required. The maternal blood tests need to be done within a period o 7 days before the birth or 7 days after the birth. The following blood tests are required:
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- HIV
- HTLV I & II
- Syphilis
Blood tests can only be done at Ampath laboratories, Bower laboratories or Pathcare laboratories as they are ISO15189 accredited, which is a requirement of our Accreditation Standards. We recommend that these tests are done whilst you are in the hospital after the birth of your baby. The cost of these blood tests is for your own account.
4. Informing Your Obstetrician
Please inform your Obstetrician/Midwife of your intention to collect your baby’s umbilical cord blood/umbilical cord blood and tissue. The Collection Procedure is relatively simple but needs to be properly done in order to ensure that a sufficient quantity of cord blood is collected in a sterile manner that ensures the stem cells viability. The Obstetrician/Midwife will be provided with a Collection Protocol.
Please note that your Obstetrician/Midwife cannot be held liable should insufficient stem cells be collected for whatever reason.
5. Birth and Collection of Cord Blood
The Collection Kit is taken to the birth.
If for any reason you arrive at hospital without your Collection Kit, you can just ask the Labour Ward for the Netcells Emergency Kit, which you can use to collect your baby’s stem cells.
After the baby has been born and safely handed over, the Obstetrician/Midwife will clamp the umbilical cord and insert a needle into the umbilical cord vein.
As much blood as possible will be collected by draining the blood into the collection bag by gravity. The blood bag can accept up to 200ml and we accept a minimum of 50ml. Our average blood collection is 100ml. The more blood that is collected, the better the chance of harvesting a good quantity of stem cells.
6. Collection of Cord Tissue
After the cord blood has been collected, about 15cm of undamaged umbilical cord is cut off. This piece of umbilical cord is cleaned and all the remaining blood is squeezed out. The piece of umbilical cord is then placed in to the large tube provided.
7. Packaging and Courier
The father/birth partner then takes responsibility for the collection by placing the blood bag and cord tube in the special temperature control bag in the collection kit, in the Carrier Box.
The carrier box will then be placed into the courier bag and the father/birth partner will sign the courier waybill.
He/she will then call Netcells to arrange courier pick-up, giving the room/ward number at the hospital. The blood must be kept at room temperature and not be placed in a refrigerator.
The parents need to ensure that the cells are kept with them at all times, until collected directly by the courier.
The Collection Kit will then be couriered to the laboratory.
8. Receipt at Laboratory
On receipt, the cord blood unit and cord tissue are logged into the management system through its unique Client Registraiton Number and is bar-coded, to ensure traceability at all times.
9. Processing and Testing
Cord Blood
The blood is then separated in a closed system into 3 layers of (1) red blood cells, (2) plasma and (3) the buffy coat, in which all white cells are captured.
The stem cells form part of the buffy coat layer. The red blood cells and plasma are then separated out through volume reduction, so that only the buffy coat remains. A cryopreservative agent, DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) is then added to the buffy coat which increases the porosity of the cell wall and ensures that the cells are not damaged during the freezing process.
Full flow cytometry testing is carried out on the cells to ensure that sufficient CD34+ (haematopoietic) stem cells have been collected and that they are viable for storage.
Cord Tissue
The cord tissue is processed by dissecting the piece of umbilical cord into smaller sections. These sections are preserved with special cryo-protectant agents.
10. Cryogenic Freezing
Cord Blood
The cells are then hermetically sealed in a cryogenic bag and encased in an aluminium cassette. This will provide the cells with physical protection during storage and transit, but more significantly, the aluminium cassette is also fundamental to the success of the freezing process by providing a consistent heat path.
The cells are then slowly and very precisely frozen within a controlled rate freezer, which ensures that the cells are not mechanically damaged during the freezing process.
Cord Tissue
The processed cord tissue sections are placed in small cryo vials. They are then also slowly and precisely frozen in the control rate freezer.
11. Storage
The cord blood stem cells, as well as the cord tissue sections, are then placed in medically registered storage vaults. The cells are stored in the vapour phase above liquid nitrogen at around -196 C, way above the -135 C required where biological processes are halted, so that ageing is stopped.
We will inform you once your baby’s stem cells have been successfully stored and issue you with a Certificate of Storage confirming this.
The Processing and Storage Fee is then due and payable.
Your Invoice, Certificate of Storage together with the Laboratory Results will be posted, as well as emailed for your electronic records.
6 month’s before your child’s 10th birthday, we will contact you and you will have the option to renew the storage contract for a further period.
12. Retrievals
Netcells can assist with consultation in the event of required stem cell transplantation.
Should the cells ever be required, you will need to contact Netcells, in consultation with your physician.
Once all the necessary approvals have been received, the cassette containing the cells will be transported anywhere in the world in special cryogenic shippers, free-of-charge.
These will hold temperatures below -150 C for up to 10 days without recharging and which are designed and approved to allow carriage in any means of transport.
The cells would then arrive at the designated medical centre still cryogenically preserved and would be thawed (a very rapid process) at the patient’s bedside immediately prior to transplantation at body temperature.