Cord Blood Banking Questionnaire and Answers

Collection of Cord Blood Sample

1. Will Family Cord Blood Services proactively contact the labor and delivery staff for you (or are parents responsible for keeping them informed and coordinated)?
   Family Cord Blood Services recommends parents to contact the labor and delivery staff so they can receive direct information from the hospital should any special arrangements be necessary.  We can assist parents with any special needs they may have.
2. Do doctors collect cord blood before or after delivery of the placenta?
   It depends on your delivery as each delivery is different and unique.  Ultimately, it is your physician’s decision to collect the cord blood before or after the delivery of the placenta.
3. What collection method will be used?
   Family Cord Blood Services follows the industry standard Gravity Bag method to collect a baby’s cord blood.
4. What storage container will be used, vials or a bag?
   Family Cord Blood Services follows industry standards and stores the cord blood in specially designed bags. This is the method used by all public banks as well as by most private cord blood banks. The transplant community has strongly urged all private banks to adhere to public banking standards and store cord blood stem cells using the bag method.
5. What equipment is provided in the kit for the physician, and are there any spares?
   Everything the healthcare professionals need for collection is provided in the collection kit. If “spares” are needed, contact us and we can provide them.
6. What instruction tools are provided for the physician?
   Family Cord Blood Services sends your obstetrician or nurse midwife written instructions in addition to video instructions (CD).  There is also an extra set of instructions inside each collection kit. In addition, we are available 24/7 should questions or concerns arise before, during, or after the cord blood collection.  We want to make sure the labor & delivery team feels prepared.

Shipping & Handling

1. Is shipping included in the contract?
   Yes. Shipping is included in the contract.
2. On weekends, is the laboratory staff in-house or on-call?
   Our laboratory staff is in-house on weekends as well as on-call 24/7.
3. Do we need to use FedEx or medical couriers?
   Family Cord Blood Services has contracted with AirNet, a specialized medical courier, to pick up the cord blood at your hospital room and ship to our facility. Parents’ responsibility is to contact AirNet when they are ready to request pick up. Please click here for detailed information.

Laboratory Testing

1. Will you notify the parents of the time at which the cord blood arrived and the time at which it was processed?
   Family Cord Blood Services contacts parents once the cord blood has arrived and has been processed.  Parents also receive two written reports on the results of the tests done on the cord blood and maternal blood.
2. What tests are performed on maternal blood?
   We follow industry standards provided by the AABB and FDA. An infectious disease test panel is run on the maternal blood sample.
3. Is the cost of the maternal blood testing and collection of the blood included in the fees?
   Yes. All the costs for processing, testing and storing the cord blood is included in our fees.
4. Do you ever reject samples on the basis of maternal tests?
   Yes. Samples are rejected if maternal blood tests positive for infectious diseases such as HIV, AIDS, Syphilis, etc. Parents are notified of the results and their options are discussed in detail. It is our policy not to store cord blood from mothers who test positive for HIV, HTLV and HBsAg.
5. Do you test the cord blood sample for infectious disease markers?
   No. Testing is done on the maternal sample as is recommended by industry standards.
6. What other contamination tests are performed on the cord blood sample?
   We run bacterial and fungal cultures on the cord blood unit.
7. Do you ever reject samples that are contaminated?
   No. Contaminated samples are not rejected.
8. Will you notify parents of the test results?
   Yes. We provide two reports to parents. A preliminary report is sent within days of processing and a complete report and certificate of storage is sent within three to four weeks.
9. Do you maintain a separate "quarantine tank" for the long-term storage of blood that has failed one or more tests, or is the blood stored together regardless of testing status?
   Yes. We maintain a “quarantine tank” for samples awaiting the results of the maternal blood testing.
10. Do you HLA type the sample?
    No. HLA testing is only required at the time a cord blood unit is requested for transplantation. HLA testing is not necessary at time of storage.
11. By which organizations are you accredited?
    We are accredited by the AABB (American Association of Blood Banks).  We are registered with the FDA, licensed by PharmaStem, certified by CLIA, and licensed by the states of California and New York.
12. Some states license cord blood banks (NJ, NY): Do you operate in those states?
    We are licensed in the states of New York and California.  New Jersey requires our medical director to have a medical license to practice medicine in New Jersey.  Our Medical Director, Dr. Michael Lill, is licensed to practice medicine in the state of California.

Processing

1. Is the blood stored whole or processed to separate mononuclear cells (MNC)?
   The cord blood is depleted of red cell and plasma prior to storage.
2. What is the minimum volume you will accept for storage?
   We do not reject samples based on volume. The number of cells and viability defines acceptability. Our current minimum total nucleated cell count is 70 million cells.
3. Is the blood stored as a single unit or several samples?
   We store the cord blood in a specially designed bag that has multiple compartments and three segments.  We also store vials of plasma, red blood cells and maternal serum for potential future testing requirements.

Storage Facility

1. Do you operate your own storage facility or lease space in one? AND In what type of facility is the bank located?
   We own and operate our own facility thus allowing our cost for storage to remain low. Our laboratory storage facility is located in our own building.
2. What is the geographic location of the storage facility and the processing lab?
   We are located in Los Angeles, CA.
3. Are the cord blood samples in a separate freezer or mixed with other medical samples?
   We only store stem cells in our tanks.
4. What type of freezer do you use?
   We use liquid nitrogen freezers.
5. Do you freeze in liquid nitrogen or vapor nitrogen?
   During the freezing process, we use a controlled rate freezer using vapor nitrogen. The actual storage takes place in liquid nitrogen.
6. What type of records do parents receive after storage?
   Parents receive two reports detailing volume of blood collected, cell count, viability, CD34 results, bacterial and fungal culture results and the baby’s blood type.
7. Does the contract state that the storage fee is fixed, or may it increase later?
   Our storage fee is guaranteed not to increase more than 5% per year, as stated in our contract.  Parents are also able to purchase long term storage plans to lock their storage fees for the storage plan period.
8. Does the bank reserve the right, in the contract, to change storage facilities?
   Yes, we do, as most banks do.

Company Stability

1. Is the company public or private?
   Family Cord Blood Services is a private company.
2. Is the company affiliated with a hospital or research institution?
   No. We are not affiliated with a hospital or research institution. We only employ methods that have been proved and approved.
3. Is the company involved in bio-technology research and development?
   No.  Family Cord Blood Services focus exclusively on improving the methods for cryopreserving hematopoietic stem cells.  We closely follow and evaluate research for both the cryopreservation and use of cord blood stem cells.
4. What other medical services does the company perform?
   Family Cord Blood Services also offers, through California Cryobank Stem Cell Services, long term storage and processing of peripheral stem cells. Our parent company, California Cryobank, is a reproductive tissue bank.
5. How long has the company been banking cord blood?
   Family Cord Blood Services started processing and storing cord blood in 1997.
6. Who directs the day-to-day business of the company?
   Our CEO, Gary Weinhouse, and our Director of Laboratory Operations, Eddie Jacildo, manage the business and the day-to-day operations.
7. How many privately banked cord blood samples do you hold?
   We hold approximately 10,000.
8. How many transplants have been performed with your cord blood samples?
   One transplant has been performed with one of our cord blood units.

Consumer Rights

1. In the event that the storage company went bankrupt, what would happen to the cord blood samples?
   You would have the choice to transfer the maintenance of your cord blood unit to the care of California Cryobank, our parent company and the world’s largest reproductive tissue bank. Because the cord blood unit is your property, you also have the option to transfer to the storage facility of your choice.
2. If the cord blood is lost or severely delayed during shipping, what liability does the company accept?
   Family Cord Blood Service’s responsibility begins at the time the cord blood arrives at our facility. AirNet, our contracted medical courier, offers insurance coverage of $1,000. Parents are responsible for calling AirNet within 2 hours of collection to request pick up of the cord blood.
3. If the storage fee is not paid, what happens to the cord blood?
   Your cord blood unit would remain in storage while we attempt to contact and notify you of the unpaid bill. However, 30 days after the due date, and after exhausting all means to contact you, we reserve the right to dispose of the cord blood unit.
4. Does the company take ANY portion of the cord blood for proprietary purposes, or does 100% go into storage?
   We do not take any portion of the unit for our own use.
5. Does the storage company reserve any rights in the contract?
   Yes, as is standard with most contracts between two parties.

Price protection

1. Is the enrollment fee charged once per family or for each birth?
   Family Cord Blood Services charges a $150 enrollment fee once per birth.
2. At what week of gestation are late enrollment fees imposed, and how much are they?
   We do not penalize expectant parents for enrolling close to their due date. Thus, we do NOT charge any late fees.
3. If the cord blood collection is small or contaminated, are parents offered any refunds?  
   If for any reason your cord blood unit cannot be stored, we will only charge a $150 non-refundable deposit.
4. Is the storage fee guaranteed fixed?
   Our storage fee is guaranteed not to increase more than 5% per year.  Parents are also able to purchase long term storage plans to lock in their storage fees for the storage plan period.
5. Who is responsible for paying physicians for the collection of the cord blood and testing on mother's blood?
   Parents are responsible for paying physicians for the collection.  Family Cord Blood Services recommends that you ask your physician if he or she charges for cord blood collection.
6. Is shipping costs included in the fee?
   Yes. Our fees include shipping costs.
7. How much is the total for the first year? 
   Our fees include everything for the first year including enrollment, collection kit, processing, shipping fees and first year of storage.  Please click here for our pricing.
8. How much is the annual storage fee?
   The annual storage fee is $120 if you purchase 1 year at a time. Longer-term storage packages are available and offer discounted rates on annual storage.
9. What if I need to retrieve the blood for transplant or just for moving to another bank? Are there any regulations on fees? 
   There is no fee for retrieving the cord blood unit for transplant purposes. The current fee for all other retrievals is $200 plus applicable shipping charges.