Cord Blood Bank

Cord blood basics

Blood that is present in the umbilical cord at the time of birth is cord blood. Currently cord blood cells are harvested and stored in a cord blood bank for future use in the treatment of blood and immune system disorders that are of genetic origin. A cord blood bank can be public or private.
More about cord blood basics

Private cord blood bank

A Private cord blood bank, only stores the cord blood for private use of families who wish to preserve the cord blood for use in the future by family members for a fee.

A Private Cord blood bank follows a business model and the services they provide are customer focused. State of the art facilities have been built up to cater to the needs of the customers efficiently. The pricing in a cord blood bank is not high and within the reach of the average American. If you wish to preserve the cord blood of your child in a cord blood bank, you need to register yourself for free with a private Cord blood bank.
More about private cord blood bank fees
Discounts for private Cord Blood bank

If you register with the Private Cord Blood bank early in the pregnancy, usually, you’ll be eligible for a discount. The amount of the discount you will get will also be reduced as you near your term. You will also be eligible for discounts if you are using the same private cord blood bank to store the cord blood of your second child or if you are a physician. You will even be given an insurance against damage to the Cord blood stored in the private cord blood bank.

Public cord blood bank

A Public cord blood bank welcomes donations of cord blood, for use on patients who need cord blood transplants. A public Cord blood bank is subject to a number of Governmental regulations and all these regulations must be followed strictly if the donated blood has to be added to the registry. Expectant mothers are required to communicate their intentions to the bank before the 34^th week of pregnancy and must agree that the blood once donated, will lose its identity after a short period of testing. Families cannot claim the right to the donated blood later.

Some issues that concerns public cord blood bank are:
The usefulness of long term preservation of frozen cord blood.
Alternate sources of stem cells are still being explored and the efficacy of the treatment with cord blood cells itself is being questioned.
A Public Cord blood bank is also concerned about the safety of the donated cord blood as it cannot be linked with the donor. The risk of transmitting genetic disorders such as congenital (at birth) anemias or immunodeficiencies (deficiencies in the immune system) looms large.
The Costs of maintenance, variations in donations patterns, ethnic issues and other similar problems also need to be considered and tackled by a public cord blood bank. Add to this ethical objection, legal considerations and medical concerns and you will have some picture of the problems that surround the cord blood bank.