“Geocord” was founded in 2006 on the basis of a Georgian-German specialized oncology clinic, after our clinic received a grant from the Tbilisi City Hall to collect umbilical cord blood from families of oncohematology patients.
Following the successful completion of the program, in January 2007 “Geocord” began the commercial storage of umbilical cord blood
At Geocord, we understand that your family’s health and future are of utmost importance. That’s why we offer high-quality and safe umbilical cord blood collection services, which may one day serve as a foundation for saving a life.
Cord blood, obtained from a newborn’s umbilical cord, contains powerful stem cells that are used to treat various medical conditions.
How is the umbilical cord blood collected and stored, and how long is it usable?
Collecting and storing umbilical cord blood is a straightforward and safe process. After the baby’s birth, the midwife collects the blood in a specialized container designed for the umbilical cord. Typically, the amount of blood collected ranges from 50-150 ml. This procedure is painless and poses no risk to the mother or newborn. The collected blood is then transported to a laboratory within 24 hours, where it undergoes processing and is stored at -1960C in liquid nitrogen. This ultra-low temperature ensures that the stem cells in the umbilical cord’s blood retain their biological activity indefinitely. They are always ready for thawing and use whenever the need arises.
Who else can use the stored umbilical blood besides my newborn?
The match of donor and recipient histological (HLA) compatibility systems is essential for successful stem cell transplantation. For a newborn, one’s umbilical cord blood is perfectly compatible. The probability of compatibility in siblings is very high at 1:4, meaning that the blood of the stored umbilical cord in 25% of cases is fully compatible with the sibling. The probability of biological compatibility of non-related individuals is very low, at 1:70000. It should be noted that the development of transplant technologies made it possible to carry out haplo-identical (i.e., 50% compatible) transplants. Thus, a parent and a semi-compatible sibling can use blood. Similarly, these technologies will make it easier to transplant even if there is a non-compatible (less than 50%) donor and recipient. Therefore, in some cases, it will be possible to use UCB for a wider circle of recipients, primarily for family members and relatives.