Frequently Asked Questions: About Umbilical Cord Blood and Stem Cells

About Cord Blood and Stem Cells

1. What is cord blood?
2. What are stem cells?
3. How are stem cells being used in medicine today?
4. What sorts of diseases can be treated with stem cell transplantations?
5. What is the future of cord blood stem cell transplants in the future?
6. Why is cord blood preferred by the medical community over bone marrow transplants?
7. What is graft vs. host disease (GVHD)?
8. What is HLA matching?

Banking Cord Blood Stem Cells

9. Why should I store my baby’s cord blood?
10. Isn’t storing your baby’s cord blood stem cells only for people with a history of family diseases such as leukemia?
11. Are there special circumstances in which people may want to consider blood private banking?
12. Do I need to save cord blood for all of my children?
13. What are my options for saving my baby’s cord blood?

Collection of Cord Blood Stem Cells

14. How new is cord blood collection?
15. When is the cord blood collected?
16. How is the cord blood collected?
17. Is collection amount important?
18. Is there any risk to my child during collection?
19. Does the hospital need to provide any materials for collection?
20. How does C-section affect the collection process?

Shipping and Handling of Cord Blood

21. How is my baby’s cord blood sent to your laboratory?
22. How long will my baby’s stem cells remain viable in the kit after collection?
23. Do the stem cells have to be kept at room temperature before shipping?
24. What if I do not live in the U.S.?
25. What if I would like bedside courier pickup with expedited shipping?

Processing and Banking of Cord Blood

26. Where are my baby’s cord blood stem cells stored?
27. How do I know my baby’s stem cells are stored safely?
28. How is my baby’s blood processed?
29. What testing is performed by NeoCells?
30. How long can cord blood stem cells be stored in liquid nitrogen?
31. Does NeoCells perform HLA typing on the cord blood samples?
32. Will I receive confirmation that my baby’s cord blood has been stored successfully?
33. How do I know that my sample will not be confused with someone else’s?
34. What federal or state guidelines or regulations do you follow?
35. If my family ever needs the sample, how do we retrieve it?
36. Is there a cost to retrieve my baby’s stem cells?
37. Does insurance cover the service of cord blood banking?

About NeoCells

38. What is unique about NeoCells?
39. Is NeoCells a financially stable company?

Enrolling with Us

40. How do I enroll with NeoCells?
41. How much does it cost to save my baby’s cord blood stem cells?
42. How can NeoCells be so much less expensive than the other companies that provide cord blood stem cell preservation services?
43. When should I enroll with NeoCells?
44. Will I be charged a fee by my caregiver for the collection?
45. How does NeoCells ensure the confidentiality of my personal information?
46. Refund policy