- Chrissy Teigen banked cord blood from all four of her children.
- She said the decision is a "potentially lifesaving" way to protect her family.
Model and mom Chrissy Teigen recently revealed that she's banked cord blood for all four of her children, including Wren, the newest addition that Teigen and husband John Legend welcomed via surrogate last month.
Banking cord blood is "a choice you can make as a parent to potentially protect your family," Teigen wrote on Instagram. Blood from the umbilical cord contains stem cells, which can become many other types of human cells. Because of that, the stem cells can potentially be used to treat a host of conditions from cancer to anemia via a stem cell transplant.
"I'm such a mama bear and would do anything for my children's future safety and wellbeing," Teigen said, calling cord banking a "potentially lifesaving gift."
This OB/GYN decided to bank her kids' cord blood 'just in case'
Dr. Christine Sterling, a board-certified OB/GYN, banked stem cells for her three children, who are 6, 3, and 1. She knew that stem cell transplants from banked cord blood can be used to treat blood cancers, anemia, immune deficiencies, metabolic problems and more; and that the cord blood can benefit the baby themselves and also genetic relatives, including parents and siblings.
"I did it just in case," Sterling told Insider.
Her family doesn't have a history of any genetic diseases like sickle cell disease or immune disorders that can be treated with a stem cell transplant immediately. Yet she and her husband—who's also a doctor — were captivated by the future security that stem cells can provide and the constantly expanding potential of stem cell therapies.
Here's how cord blood banking works
Sterling is now a spokesperson for CBR, the company that Teigen used to bank the cord blood of her two youngest children. She said that all families should at least consider banking cord blood.
To bank cord blood, parents sign up with a company online, and receive a collection kit in the mail. The kit is packed for the hospital (or wherever you're delivering). After the baby is born, medical staff package a sample of cord blood, and it's delivered to the cord blood bank, where it's frozen and stored.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you can't bank cord blood if you do delayed cord clamping, which allows more blood to flow to the baby after delivery, Sterling said. But that's not true.
"You do both," she said. "They're not mutually exclusive."
Even parents like Teigen, who have children via a surrogate, can bank cord blood with the surrogate's consent.
Parents also have the option to donate cord blood
The odds of needing banked cord blood are low: about one in 2,700, according to the March of Dimes. Sterling says that having banked cord blood and never needing it is a best-case scenario.
"The reality is I hope that I never have to use it, and I hope my kids never have to use it," Sterling said. "I feel good when I pay my fee because that means no one in my family has needed it."
Still, the process is cost-prohibitive for some people. It costs about $2,000 to bank cord blood, plus $125 a year to store the blood, according to the March of Dimes.
A more affordable option is donating cord blood. Donations are collected and sent to public cord blood banks. The stem cells from the cord blood are then used to help current and future patients who need a stem cell transplant. Donation is free, which is a major benefit, but if you or your child need a stem cell transplant in the future, you don't have access to the banked cord blood.
Whether you choose to privately bank or donate cord blood, Sterling would like to see more parents consider preserving stem cells from birth.
"They're so valuable," she said. "If you don't bank cord blood or donate it, it's just discarded."