Cord Blood Banking For Twins or Triplets | All Your Questions Answered

Author: Cell Care

When you’re pregnant with twins you have a lot of important decisions to make. Deciding to collect and store umbilical cord blood and tissue for your babies is one of those decisions that needs to be made prior to birth.

Your twins umbilical cord blood and tissue contain powerful stem cells that can be used for medical treatments
Cell Care

What is umbilical cord blood & tissue? And why should I store it?

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta immediately after a baby is born and the umbilical cord has been clamped and cut. Cord tissue is a segment of the umbilical cord.

Your twins umbilical cord blood and tissue contains powerful stem cells that can be used for medical treatments. Cord blood is currently being used in place of bone marrow transplants for many life-threatening conditions such as blood cancers, leukaemia’s, immune system and metabolic disorders.

Find out more about Cell Care HERE.

Cord blood banking for twins – Your questions answered

Here are some of the top questions that relate to cord blood baking for twins.

Do I need to store cord blood and tissue for both babies?

Yes. Your twin’s cord blood and tissue stem cells are a perfect match for each individual child and are more likely to be a match for siblings. When having twins, by storing cord blood and tissue for each child, you are ensuring each baby has access to their own cells and potentially their siblings’ cells if they need to be utilised.

What if I am having identical twins?

It is recommended that you store cord blood and tissue for both babies if having identical twins.

In addition to the reasons above, in the event of cord blood being used for a medical treatment, a key determinant of success is the volume of cord blood (cell dose) that is infused into the patient. The greater the cord blood volume the better the clinical outcomes.

Therefore, if having identical twins, it is recommended that cord blood and tissue are stored for both babies to maximise the total cord blood volume and tissue.

Will I receive two cord blood collection kits?

Yes. If having twins, you will receive two collection kits, one for each baby. After enrolment, your kits will be sent from 32 weeks gestation.

Is the collection process the same for twins?

Yes. The twin collection process is the same as it would be for two singleton births. Each cord blood and tissue collection are collected individually.

Collection of cord blood and tissue is performed by a trained Cell Care collector or obstetrician. The cord blood is collected into a sterile collection bag. The procedure is painless for both mother and each baby. The process takes around three minutes. The cord tissue is collected after the delivery of the placenta(s).

Is the storage process the same for twins?

Yes. The twin storage process is the same as it would be for two singleton births. Each cord blood and tissue collection are stored individually.

Twin cord blood and tissue is stored the same way as for singleton babies with unique identifiers for each baby. Your samples cannot be mixed up at any point as we use a triple-identification system.

What happens if the cord blood is needed for a medical treatment?

Upon approval from treating physicians, in line with TGA requirements, you can retrieve your child’s cells for an approved medical treatment or clinical trial. There is no charge to release or transport the samples.

Is there a discount for twins?

Cell Care is offering Twinfo readers an exclusive discount offer of $300 off per baby for cord blood ($600 total) or $600 off per baby for cord blood and tissue ($1200 total).

Simply use the referral codes TWIN100 for cord blood or TWIN200 for cord blood and tissue