Our Anja Health™ Review
Is the cord bank worth it in 2023?
- Written by Alex Levine
What's in our review
The Bottom Line: Our review of Anja Health found that it’s a great option for many parents-to-be, especially for those who don’t have a lot of money for an upfront investment. The service has simplified the process so much that anyone can take advantage without confusion and frustration. The portal provides all the support you need to follow the process one step at a time in complete confidence.
The basics
In this Anja Health review, we’ll look at online cord blood banks and why they’re such a wise investment. We’ll provide real information that can help you decide if Anja Health is the right investment for you and your family, including honest details about how much the best cord blood banks cost and what you can expect if you decide to try it.
Remember, we’re early adopters; there are many types of cells in the blood and tissue of umbilical cords that have yet to be explored. The collections you preserve today will likely multiply in value as the years pass.
Basically, Anja Health is a cord banking and stem cell storage option that has the potential to save lives. While this process was once complicated and extremely expensive, sources like Anja Health are simplifying the procedure and lowering costs to bring this life-saving opportunity to more families.
Anja Health History
Anja health is founded-led
The process of stem cell collection has been well-tested and can allow you to store your stem cells for 20 years. But why is this important, what can you expect, and why might you choose Anja Health over competitors?
Anja Health was founded by Kathryn Cross after her brother’s battle with cerebral palsy. After discovering that his condition was treatable with cord blood stem cells, the family did everything possible to find a stem cell match. Unfortunately, finding matches is incredibly difficult, which led to Cross’s mission to make stem cell storage more affordable and accessible to everyone.
Cross turned Anja Health into one of the best stem cord blood banks available today. Matching stem cells is different than matching blood types, so many people in need never find donors. Had her brother’s stem cells been collected at birth, he would have received the treatment he needed to survive cerebral palsy. Anja Health’s mission is to save more lives in the future in honor of Cross’s brother.
Stem cell banking is the process of collecting living cells from the umbilical cord blood and tissue immediately after the birth of a baby. In some cases, the placenta is collected and stored as well because it also contains a vast reservoir of stem cells that are incredibly valuable to the baby and potentially loved ones for years to come.
Why does Cord Banking Work?
Key discoveries show increasing uses for cord blood
- It has the potential to form all cell types needed to create healthy blood. Because it contains a rich collection of hematopoietic stem cells, they are heavily researched for use in regenerative medicine and can help treat blood disorders, liver disease, and more.
- It contains numerous unstudied stem cells, many of which could one day lead to treatment for a long list of medical issues that compromise lives today.
- The tissue contains a large collection of cells that can form into various cell types. Called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), researchers are discovering ways to use these to treat numerous diseases, including neurological and cardiovascular diseases. They can also help with bone fractures that don’t heal.
- The placenta contains multiple types of stem cells with a wide range of potential medical applications. Researchers have even used one type of placenta cell to regenerate healthy heart cells in animals that experienced heart attacks.
What does the science say?
NIH and other agencies are finding many possible benefits
Stem cell storage could one day save the life of someone you love. The stem cells you collect and preserve after the birth of your baby are easily cryopreserved—a medical form of freezing—and then stored for decades into the future. Those cells are a guaranteed match to the baby and are more likely to match blood relatives than cells collected from unrelated donors.
To date, the FDA has approved stem cell treatment for specific types of cancer and some blood and immune system conditions. There are more than 80 conditions that are currently approved for treatment, and more approvals will crop up as the body of scientific research expands.
- Tissue regeneration after heart attack or stroke
- Diabetes
- Immune system and blood repopulation after chemotherapy or radiation
- Blood disorders
- Immune system disorders
- Genetic disorders
- Some types of cancer
Due to the difficulty of matching stem cells between unrelated individuals, stem cell storage is the only way to ensure your child has access to matching cells if needed later in life. The cells you collect from one child today could one day match a family member or someone you don’t know that’s in need of life-saving treatment ten or even 20 years in the future.
Three different Anja Health Plans
What are the Different Ways You Can Preserve Stem Cells with Anja Health?
What makes Anja Health one of the best cord blood banks is the options they offer customers. You can choose between three plans, each offering a different level of collection and preservation of life-saving stem cells.
The Bean Plan – This is the simplest and cheapest plan, but it doesn’t cord tissues that might be really valuable later. If yo can afford the $30 more per month, we recommend Bud or Bloom options.
The Bud Plan – The Bud plan allows you to preserve those hematopoietic stem cells that can form all three types of cells that make up healthy blood, adding the power of those MSCs that we discussed above, and the Bloom plan maximizes the value of your stored stem cell collection.
The Bloom Plan – The Bloom plan is also what makes Anja Health stand out as one of the best stem cell banking options – not all banks currently offer the option of banking the placenta along with umbilical cord blood and tissue. Research into the use of placenta stem cells is still in early development compared to the knowledge about umbilical cord stem cells.
How Do You Get Started with Anja?
Here’s how to take the first steps
Anja Health makes stem cell collection and storage easy, but it does require participation from you and the medical providers delivering your baby. The following steps will put the entire process into perspective.
- Receive collection kit: After your purchase, Anja Health will ship you a 100% sterile collection kit that contains everything needed to collect, pack, and transport your collected blood and tissue, including:
- An FDA-approved Pall blood bag with CPD anticoagulant
- Complete instructions for your medical team
- All supplies needed for collection after vaginal or cesarean birth. The kit is sterile both inside and out.
- Notify your medical professionals that you want to collect stem cells and provide your collection kit at the time of delivery.
- During/right after birth: Your medical team will follow the instructions to collect the umbilical cord blood, cord tissue, and placenta (depending on the plan selected).
- NOTE: If your providers determine that collecting the blood or tissue is unsafe, you can receive a full refund from Anja Health.
- After collection: Anja Health will send a professional transportation service to pick up your completed kit and transport it to the company’s secure lab. The collection is manually processed to remove the maximum number of stem cells from the blood and tissue.
- Note: This manual processing is RARE, another factor making Anja Health one of the best online cord blood banks available today. This leads to almost 25% more stem cells being recovered and up to 80% fewer red blood cells contaminating the sample.
- Cryopreservation: Stem cell collections are placed in advanced cryo bags, tested for infectious disease, and then cryopreserved. You’ll receive a stem cell certificate to save for your records.
- If you need your stem cells in the next 20 years: Your certificate will help you access your collection promptly. If your child, a family member, or someone you know needs the cells, we’ll transfer the cells to your healthcare facility for treatment.
Trillions of tiny cells work together to create the structural frame of every human body. When a baby is born, the umbilical cord tissue and blood contain a large concentration of cells left over from blood circulating through the developing baby’s body in the womb. Those cells are known as stem cells, and they have the power to save lives when collected, stored, and later used properly.
What to Expect with Anja Health
Anja Health provides a convenient and informative parent portal that offers:
- Stem cell collection tracking: After it’s picked up and transported for processing, you don’t have to wonder where the sample went or if the processing is taking place on time. Everything is documented in the portal for your information.
- Messaging: Ask questions and get prompt responses from members of the Anja Health care team at any point in the process.
- Help you with medical forms or other steps of the process that you may find challenging. You’re never on your own when you work with Anja Health.
Cost of Stem Cell Storage with Anja Health
You will pay a one-time upfront fee of $199 to receive your Stem Cell Safe. You can then purchase one of the three collection and storage plans for another upfront fee, or you can select a payment plan. The plans start at $35 a month for eight years, which delivers 20 years of guaranteed storage as long as the payments are received monthly.
- Bean (cord blood): $3,025 upfront or $35/mo
- Bud (cord blood + tissue): $5,605 upfront or $65/mo
- Bloom (cord blood + tissue + placenta): $7,425 upfront or $85/mo
Reviews of Anja from around the web
What other customers are saying
We like to balance our review with other reviews around the web. Our experience isn’t everyone’s experience. Here are a few more data points to help you make an informed decision to take the next step.
The Verdict
Our experience with Anja
A reputable, proven online cord blood banking option, Anja Health is a great option for many parents-to-be, especially for those who don’t have a lot of money for an upfront investment.
The service has simplified the process so much that anyone can take advantage without confusion and frustration. The portal provides all the support you need to follow the process one step at a time in complete confidence.
With hundreds of four and five-star reviews, and happy customers we can confirm that Anja is a great option for your cord banking needs.
Pros and Cons of Anja Health
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Different collection and preservation options (cord blood, tissue, and placenta) |
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