Cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord and the placenta immediately after baby is born and its umbilical cord is cut. During collection the child is already in the care of the doctor. Both the placenta and the umbilical cord are not needed any more so the collection does not put any burden to the child. Because both are the child's organs, the collection isn't unpleasant or painful for the mother.

The collection is usually carried out by trained obstetricians or midwifes. Cord blood is taken from the umbilical vein straight into a sterile collection bag. Because the physician’s main concern is the well being of the mother and child, in certain specific cases it is not possible to collect cord blood.

Cord blood is not collected if:
The life or health of the mother or child is in danger (physician’s decision)
The mother is proven to have acute HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B or C during the pregnancy

If the mother decides on banking cord blood privately, it is possible to collect the blood during a Caesarian section, epidural anesthesia, a water birth or a premature birth. If the mother decides to donate cord blood she must undergo a selection process based on certain criteria, similar to donating blood for transfusion.

Cord Blood Transportation
Collected cord blood is transported from the hospital to the processing facility. Transportation is arranged by Eurocord-Slovakia. Collected cord blood, test tubes and other samples are transported in thermo boxes with optimal conditions for transporting biological material. This is carried in correspondence with the international agreement of ADR and IATA concerning the transportation of Class 6.2 GDR materials “Biological Substance, cat. B, UN 3373”.

Cord Blood Processing
Cord blood is processes in specialized facilities (laboratories). The area in the processing part of the facility is subject to strict health and safety regulations, including the circulation and filtering of air, usage of germicidal lamps and regular inspections. In order to ensure a high standard of safety of the biological material, the processing of hematopoietic stem cells takes place inside boxes with laminar air flow. Even the entry to the processing area is under strict hygienic regulations.

1. At the beginning of the processing itself the collection bag, collected samples and the necessary documentation are all given a unique number code.
2. The volume of cord blood and the total amount of nucleated cells in cord blood unit are determined.
3. The process continues by centrifugation and the addition of a cryoprotective solution.
4. At the same time samples of cord blood are prepared for the quality control.
5. Prepared cord blood unit in a protective metal casing and the samples are placed in the cryopreservation device.
6. This device ensures the gradual balanced freezing until the required temperature. This whole process is monitored the whole time.
7. Cord blood unit is hermetically sealed in a special freezer bag and placed in a biological container in another protective casing.

Cord Blood Storage
Cord blood is stored in biological containers. The required conditions for storing live cells are created by liquid nitrogen with a temperature of -196°C. This system is independent from electricity. The amount of liquid nitrogen and the temperature in the container are controlled by a monitoring system. Our storage facilities are located in Slovakia.