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Stem Cells


Cord Blood


Cord Blood Banking


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Types of Cord Blood Banks


Original Types of Cord Blood Banks

Originally, there were only two types of cord blood banks:

  • Transplant Public Bank: like a blood bank for cord blood. Go to the public bank page for a list of links to banks accepting donations.
    A “registry” is a list of donors. The donors may come from a single bank or a network of banks.
  • Private Bank: like a medical safe-deposit box.

    • The difference between these two banks is summarized in the table below:

    Donating to a Transplant Public Bank versus Private Banking

    Type of bank Private Bank Transplant Public bank
    Cost to Parent $900 - $1,800 Free
    Blood Owner Parents Bank
    Bank Income Parents medical insurance and blood sales
    Blood Usage Parental discretion transplants or grant-funded research

    In a Transplant Public Bank, the bank is committed to the goal of archiving cord blood collections for medical patients. The bank may be a non-profit institution or it may be a for-profit corporation. The crucial factor is not the business model of the bank, but its commitment to try to archive the cord blood that it collects.

    It is very difficult to financially break even when archiving cord blood. As explained on the web page about costs , the bank spends over $1000 to process each cord blood collection, and this is balanced by charging about $35,000 for each collection released for transplant. But it takes a few years to reach equilibrium between units collected and units released for transplant. Meanwhile, even a Transplant Public Bank will sell any collections that do not meet its storage criteria. These reserach sales help to boost their income.

    Third Option: Banks that Profit from Parent Donations

    During the early 2000’s, a third type of bank has become common, which can be called a Research Public Bank. At first glance, these companies look like Transplant Blood Banks, because they will accept your donation for free. But the majority of the cord blood collected by these banks is not archived for transplants. Research Banks either use the cord blood for their own research or sell it to other researchers. Research Banks vary widely, from banks which are collecting for peer-reviewed research programs at a local hospital, to banks which are scamming parents to line the pockets of cord blood profiteers.Problems with the business model of selling cord blood donations:

    • Deceptive advertising: These banks may lure parents to donate with advertising about the need for transplants. But in fact, many or most of their donations are not being saved for transplant patients.
    • False assurances: When parents donate to a public bank, they tend to assume that their child’s blood can be retrieved if they ever need it. This is not 100% true at any public bank, because it may have been given to another patient in need. But it is even less true when most of the blood passes through the bank without being archived long-term.
    • Ethical concerns: Do you feel comfortable donating your child’s stem cells to a corporation that will attempt to use them to make a profit for their investors? Or to a reserach group that hopes to obtain patents on their discoveries, and then use the patents to generate profits?

    All Cord Blood Banking Options

    Type of bank Private
    Bank    		 Transplant Public Bank Research Public Bank
    Cost to Parent $900 - $1,800 Free Free
    Blood Owner Parents Bank Bank
    Bank Income Parents medical insurance and blood sales blood sales & patent royalites
    Blood Usage Parental discretion transplants or grant-funded resarch research

    The bottom line is, that parents should read the Informed Consent carefully before donating cord blood.