Cord Blood Banks

Parents have two options when storing their child’s umbilical cord blood: private banks and public banks. Private banking is a service available for parents to store their child’s cord blood and cord tissue so that they will have access to them if they ever need them. Public banking is a donation toward the international cord blood registry, which allows any patient who needs the cells to have access to them. Whether you decide to store your child’s cord blood privately or donate it to a public bank, there is no shortage of options in storage banks.

Private banking

Private banking is best for parents who want to help protect their families by having access to their children’s stem cells at any point in the future. Families with dangerous genetic diseases or a history of certain cancers will benefit the most from a private bank.

Below you will find top 10 banks ordered chronologically by years of experience. We’ve divided the list into two categories: The first category is for banks that own and operate their own laboratories and retain control over all aspects of processing and storage. The second category is for banks that have marketing and customer services in-house while contracting processing and cryogenic storage of the cord blood collections to third-party vendors.

When choosing the company to trust with your baby’s cord blood, we advise you to thoroughly research the top 3 companies that own and operate their own labs.

Cord Blood Banks that Operate Own Labs

• Cryo-Cell
• Cord Blood Registry
• ViaCord
• StemCyte
• LifebankUSA

Cord Blood Banks with Third-Party Labs

• AlphaCord
• AmeriCord
• SafetyCord

Cord blood banks that operate their own labs are able to offer a superior level of quality and security but may have higher upfront fees. Cord blood banks that use third-party laboratories, on the other hand, are able to advertise lower prices but cannot offer the same level of control over how the cord blood and cord tissue are processed and stored.

Location isn’t as important a factor when considering a private bank. Most storage facilities have temperature-controlled containers to safely and quickly ship cord blood to their facility. You can read more tips on choosing the right private bank.

Researching private banks and their offerings may feel like an overwhelming task. In which case, we invite you to give us a call at 1-888-894-6412, and we can help guide you through it.

Public Banks

While private banks store cells for your family, donating stem cells to a public bank can save lives and help researchers test new therapies. Find out more about public banking here.