Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Kit - 5 Features You Should Know

Reviewed by Dr. Chirayu Padhiar

July 22, 2021 | 8 MIN READ

Parents who’ve enrolled for stem cell banking, wondering what’s the whole fuss about the umbilical cord blood collection kit? Let us tell you all about it.

A typical stem cell preservation process consists of 5 steps - enrolment, sample collection, transportation, processing, and preservation! You’ll need to enrol during pregnancy, following which sample collection step at the time of delivery kick-starts the whole preservation process. This is where the umbilical cord blood collection kit plays a crucial role in ensuring safe sample transfer.

The collection kit should adhere to optimal standards of cold chain and physical safety necessary to maintain cell integrity and quality of the sample during transit. LifeCell’s advanced cord blood collection kit proves to be a game-changer here. How, you ask? Let’s give you a low-down of its components and important features.

What The Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Kit Contains?

You’ll receive the umbilical cord blood collection kit after you sign up for LifeCell’s Community Stem Cell banking program. You will need to carry this kit to the hospital at the time of delivery.

A collection kit might seem like a mini, portable & well-equipped laboratory that includes:

a. The stainless steel container that consists of:

Cooling foam brick
2 maternal blood collection tubes (9 ml & 6 ml)
1 Tourniquet
1 vacutainer (vacuum blood collection tube) & needle
1 wrapping towel bag
1 Biohazard bag

b. A vacuum-sealed aluminium bag containing the cord blood
collection bag (approx 150 ml capacity)

c. A purple card with a bar code sticker

That was about the components! Now, here’s a sneak peak into the features of the collection kit:

5 Unique Features of The Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Kit

Physical Safety: The outer body of the umbilical cord blood collection kit is made of tough stainless steel. Its jostle-free design ensures that the sample stays in an intact position during transit. It offers maximum physical protection to the sample from external crashes and pressures.

Optimum Temperature Maintenance: To maintain the stem cell viability (healthy stem cells) in the sample during transit, the ideal temperature range for sample safety is 4 - 280 C. The collection kit’s specially customised vacuum insulation ensures prolonged maintenance of the ideal temperature (4 - 280 C) for up to 72 hours.

Space-Saving Compact Design: At 6120 cm3, the kit occupies 40% less volumetric dimension. Thus, making it smaller compared to the conventional thermocol collection kits.

Eco-Friendly: The reusable stainless steel box is eco friendly and minimises the environmental hazards compared to the ordinary thermocol kits.

Protects From Contamination: The stainless steel body of the umbilical cord blood collection kit is water-resistant.
It also provides sustained protection from external contaminants and unexpected climate changes occuring
during transit.

Feeling enlightened already? Then wait, here’s more. Let’s have a look into the entire collection process, step-wise!

4-Step Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Process

Step 1: Freezing the foam brick You will receive the umbilical cord blood collection kit, when you are pregnant. As soon as you receive it, place the foam brick into the freezer. This frozen foam brick needs to be placed back into the collection kit and carried to the hospital on the day of delivery. The frozen foam brick helps in maintaining the temperature of the sample during transportation.

Step 2: Maternal blood collection The maternal blood sample will be collected to check for any infectious diseases that can be transmitted to the baby. The sample is collected in the 2 collection tubes, with the aid of the vacutainer*, tourniquet & needle provided. These tubes are then placed in the collection container.

Step 3: Cord blood collection Following your baby’s delivery, after the cord is clamped, the blood is collected in the blood bag with the anticoagulant*. The bag is then placed in a fabric bag, followed by the biohazard ziplock bag. After appropriate labelling, this entire set up is then securely placed in the collection kit along with the cooling foam brick. The container is then sealed and placed in the secure outer carton.

Step 4: Purple card completion Each collection kit comes with a purple card. This has to be filled with the unique CRM number and all the necessary clinical details about the mother & the child.

After sealing the outer carton & appropriate labelling, the kit is ready to be shipped!

Sit back and relax whilst we transport your sample to one of our well-equipped laboratories for further processing & storage. You’ll be able to track the entire process and the test results on your personalised client portal.

Now we hope you know everything you’ve always wanted to, about the umbilical cord blood collection kit and its role in your stem cell banking journey. Your baby’s precious cord blood stem cells can be collected only once - at the time of birth. This is why the sample’s safety during transit is imperative. At LifeCell, we understand that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity cannot be wasted. And this very thought goes behind our continuous efforts to upgrade our products and services and ensure customer satisfaction. Our advanced umbilical cord blood collection kit is one such step in that direction. Because, just like you, we too understand the importance of your baby’s future good health!

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