The bank is owned by Lazaron Biotechnologies and includes a laboratory, a storage facility and offices and is at the Tygerberg Hospital complex.

Researcher, Stellenbosch University lecturer and the bank's manager, Daniel Barry, said that two pregnant women had already agreed to give a sample of cord blood within a 15 minute window period after the child is born.

One of these is Norma Saayman who works for the university. She says that storing cord blood is a good investment in her first child's future.

Barry said that cord blood collected from a newborn had a one-in-four chance of matching the cellular makeup of siblings, providing potential relief in these cases...

Cord Blood Storage in South Africa