There are three fundamental phases regarding umbilical cord blood preservation: collection, processing, and storage.

Collection: The healthcare provider who performs the collection will look for a simple, safe and reliable procedure. The procedure with the fewest steps reduces the chance of bacterial contamination, time away from patient care, or simple mistakes. Procedures that require adding anticoagulant or changing syringes in mid-procedure can result in contaminated samples and error. The basic options for extracting the cord blood are a syringe method and a gravity method.

Processing: To see an illustration of a unique closed bag process that insures that the blood is never exposed to the air click on this link Collection Procedures and follow the prompts. You will see why the completely closed processing system is safest.

Storage: The cord blood stem cell unit is transferred into liquid nitrogen and stored at regulated temperatures. The liquid nitrogen tanks should be equipped with a 24 hour monitored alarm device, internal and external to the storage facility, and include a back up system.