You’ve chosen to store your baby’s umbilical cord stem cells, the collection kit is ready – but what exactly happens on the day you give birth? At Future Health Biobank, the sample collection process is managed for you. It’s straightforward, efficient and never interferes with the third stage of labour or birth.
As extra reassurance, you can opt for delayed cord clamping alongside cord blood banking. A small fraction of cord blood is required to collect your baby’s sample and cryogenically store it for decades to come.
To ensure your baby’s stem cell collection goes smoothly, here’s what you should know.
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Home » Stem cell collection: What to do on the day
What to bring
Alongside your collection kit, you will receive sticker to affix to your birth notes and a copy of the letter we sent to your hospital. You will need to bring these with you on the big day. Please ensure the sticker is stuck to the front of your birth notes, and the collection kit remains unopened.
Alerting your healthcare professional
We will provide you with a phlebotomist or healthcare professional on the day to collect your baby’s sample. You will find their contact details on your confirmation email. When labour begins, immediately call or text your assigned professional so that they can attend the birth on time. Don’t worry about when you might go into labour, your phlebotomist is on call any time, day or night. You can also ask them to bring along their emergency kit if you happen to have forgotten yours.
Collecting the sample
On arrival, your phlebotomist or healthcare professional will only enter the room to take your umbilical cord and maternal blood sample. You should barely notice their presence! Then they will safely place the sample inside the collection kit next to your hospital bed.
After birth
Once your baby is born, text ‘COLLECT’ to our medical courier (details on the side of the kit). This notifies the courier to collect your baby’s sample from the hospital and transport it directly to the Future Health labs.
Our Customer Care team are on hand for any questions that you may have
Frequently asked questions
Your collection kit will be delivered to your home on receipt of all paperwork and a deposit payment. On the day you give birth, simply bring it with you alongside your maternity bag for the phlebotomist to use later.
Yes, having a water birth will not affect your collection.
Yes, you will simply need to ensure the phlebotomist has a safe area to perform you collection and somewhere to wait if you would prefer them not to be in the room with you.
No, having a scheduled caesarean will not affect your collection.