Adoption and Cord Blood Banking: What 3 Things to Consider?

Cord blood stem cells were used for the first time in the late 1980s to treat patients with diseases previously treated by bone marrow transplantation. Today, cord blood banking is more popular and more affordable than ever.

Many parents choose to bank their newborn's cord blood as a form of insurance, in case their child needs stem cells later on in life. A cord blood stem cell transplant is highly effective as it contains the exact DNA of the patient. The adoption of a child would naturally entail cord blood banking for the parents. At a time of health crisis, it is often impossible to find a biological match. Adopted people may be particularly affected.

If you are an adoptive parent and want to bank your child's cord blood, you should follow these tips:

1. Be clear and as early as possible with the expectant mother about your desire to bank cord blood. The birth mother must give her written consent. A cord blood bank must also send a collection kit to the birth mother for the hospital to collect the cord blood. Anja Health would love to provide you with such collection kit.
2. Be sure to include the organization that represents your adoption. In most cases, the agency will expect the adoptive family to make all the arrangements with the cord blood bank. However, sometimes an agency can provide reputable banks or facilitate communication with the birth mother.
3. Check out cord blood banks. It is especially important to consider this when there is little time between an adoption agreement and the birth of a child. Anja Health can ensure that your order is expedited. As with everything involved with adoption, finding a reputable bank is key, so you can count on Anja Health for that!

Anja Health offers three types of stem cell collection and you can head over to our science page to learn more about cord blood, cord tissue and placenta stem cell banking.

Proper planning and communication are essential. By banking your adopted child's cord blood, you have one less worry and one more way to feel at peace during the process of growing your family.