What is the optimum cord blood storage container, bags or vials?

Scientific answer:

Existing scientific studies do not show a significant difference between the cell dose and cell viability of Cord Blood stored in bags versus vials.  There have been successful transplants with Cord Blood that had been stored for years using either method.

History:

Historically, the use of bags and vials have existed in parallel for over a decade.  On the one hand, public Cord Blood banks have always stored cord blood in traditional blood bags, presumably because they were founded by traditional blood banks and this was a consistent practice for them.  But on the other hand, research institutions usually stored cord blood in vials, which allow multiple portions per collection and are less expensive to maintain.

Thus, when private companies began offering family storage in the mid-1990’s, some adopted the bag method and others adopted the vial method.  A given bank would use one method or the other, not both, because their freezer would be equipped with racks for holding either one or the other.  Also, the loading of the racks had to be balanced for mechanical and temperature stability.

There have always been pros and cons to vials versus bags as a storage method.  Vials have the advantage that the cord blood is stored in multiple portions, which gives the family the option to use part of the collection and save the rest.  Vials have the disadvantage that because they are very small, they are very prone to temperature fluctuations, and should not be transfered in the lab without insulation.  Bags have the advantage that they are a “closed system” where the blood can be processed and stored in the same container, thus minimizing the risk of contamination during a transfer.  Bags have the disadvantage that they shatter if not handled carefully.

Regulatory answer:

In a recent revision of AABB standards, the accrediting agency AABB has made it a requirement for cord blood collections to be accompanied by small portions for future testing, and these small portions must be “integrally attached” to the main collection.  The requirement for the testing portions to be “integrally attached” is new.  It is intended as a safety precuation, to insure that all cord blood belonging to a particular person is adequately labeled, and there can never be any confusion as to which testing portion belongs to which collection.

The new AABB requirement tends to favor bag storage over vial storage.  It is easy to create attached testing portions with a blood bag, by crimping small segments of tubing attached to the bag.  It is harder to attach multiple vials to each other in a cryogenic tank.  Some banks which stored in vials have switched to bags in order to comply with this regulation.  Other banks are operating under a variance from the AABB, while they investigate options or prepare for the transition.  The AABB has provided a FAQ page which addresses this topic.

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