When you bank your baby’s cord blood, you want the best chances for a successful stem cell transplant. That’s why it’s important to ask the cord blood bank’s representative if their bank is fully accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).  AABB accreditation is one indicator to ensure donors and clients that a cord blood bank is delivering a quality process—from collection to storage and, if necessary, transplantation. And since 2003, ViaCord has been proud to be AABB-accredited

How it works: the AABB audit
Every two years, AABB experts in the field of cord blood banking and cellular therapy visit each of our ViaCord facilities – our headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts and our cord blood processing and storage laboratory outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The lead assessor visits headquarters and reviews the documentation of our program and the records that represent the effective execution of our standard operating procedures. The lead assessor, often accompanied by a second assessor – at least one of which is an expert in cell therapy, visits our laboratory and storage facilities, reviews processing and storage procedures and records, our staff training records, speaks to our operators and evaluates our laboratory operations. Once the assessors conclude their audit, they provide constructive feedback and commendations. Assessors can also mandate that a cord blood bank has to make changes to a process in order to receive or maintain full accreditation. We are proud to say Viacord has been noted for commendable practices over the years.

Additional benefits of the AABB
As new developments are made in the field of transfusion medicine and cellular therapy, the AABB works to provide access for their members to continue their education by facilitating AABB webinars, seminars, books and national meetings each year. These resources help ViaCord employees meet their educational requirements each year.

When it comes to your baby’s cord blood, it’s important to do your research and make sure the blood bank you choose is fully accredited by the AABB. Visit aabb.org  for a list of AABB-accredited cord blood banks.

And tell us, what’s important to you when choosing a cord blood bank?

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