Why I Decided to Cord Blood Bank for my Baby’s Future

As a mother living with active autoimmune disease, my pregnancy was filled with mixed emotions. Like many expectant mothers, moments of joy and wonder were also accompanied by concern about my health and the health of my developing baby.

Having more than one autoimmune disease gave me pause about the genes I’d be passing onto my children…. And, after I discovered I am a genetic carrier for some pretty awful diseases, my doctor encouraged me to have a genetic amniocentesis to ensure that my child’s health wouldn’t be affected.  *Luckily, the results came back in the clear and I had peace of mind. But, I paid attention to the many Cord Blood Banking pamphlets peppered around my OB-GYN’s office and the many studies underway using stem cells to treat a plethora of diseases. Given my genetic odds were flawed, I wanted to hedge bets and give my children the best possible chance at good health.

Cord Blood banking offers parents the opportunity to save and store the stem cell rich blood and tissues that flow between the umbilical cord and the placenta when the baby is in the womb. Right after a baby’s delivery, medical providers clamp and cut the umbilical cord, but there’s an opportunity to collect the remaining and coveted stem cells after delivery. From there these stem cells and tissues can be sent to a cryo-bank where the tissues and cells are frozen and can be a health savings account of sorts as stem cell treatments are studied and become viable treatment options. This is exciting because stem cells are actively being studied and used in treatments for a variety of diseases and medical conditions including some cancers and other health disorders.  It’s been proven that stem cells have been useful in the treatment of blood diseases like leukemia and lymphoma or sickle cell disease… and the research and development around stem cell treatments is just getting started with potential breakthrough therapies on the horizon.

In the US alone, there were over 5,000 registered clinical trials on ClinicalTrials.gov from 2022, involved in stem cell therapies. While treatments are still new and considered experimental, the potential future applications of these stem cell treatments outweighs the annual costs to store the cord blood tissues and cord blood in general for me… I considered this an opportunity to help provide for my children’s future healthcare needs via cutting edge stem cell therapies. Given my personal health issues, I wanted to give my children every opportunity to be thrive, including a chance at optimal health.

Given all of the above exciting news; it’s important to note that this process is costly and still experimental. Current stem cell treatments require quite a bit of volume… My family member is in the process of undergoing a stem cell treatment to treat lymphoma and the treatment process requires the collection of 2,000,000+ stem cells. While cord blood contains millions of hematopoietic stem cells, the collection process varies based on each situation and it’s not possible to collect all viable stem cells. I’ve read that nearly half of all collections don’t have enough stem cells to treat patients. In a study from 2010, it was noted that 41% of the cord blood collections didn’t meet sufficient stem cell volume requirements to run a test of autologous cord blood infusion for children with acquired neurologic disorders. But, on the bright side more than half of all collections do offer a viable volume and collecting both cord blood and associated tissues helps provide that volume needed. And many who cord blood bank are counting on new developments in treatment that would require a lower volume of stem cells for future treatments.

When considering whether to participate in Cord Blood Banking, it’s important to identify whether you want to use a public & private Cord Blood Bank. Public cord blood donations are an option for those who want to donate their Cord Blood to a national public registry and that don’t want to maintain storage costs for their baby’s cord blood. However, with a public bank, you’re making a donation and your baby’s cord blood is made available to the public… The cord blood could be used by anyone in need.

If you want to secure the cord blood for your own family, you will need to pay for a private service to freeze and bank your cord blood. I personally used a private banking service that was one of two companies recommended by my doctor’s office. Private Cord Blood Banking charges a collection and an annual fee so that the cord blood is stored specifically for your family as long as you are a paying customer. It’s important to note that public banks, which utilize specific criteria for banking (based on current clinical indications) to ensure optimum product safety and potency are regulated at a different level than private banks. Private banks generally store any collected unit regardless of size or cell content, in part because they predict that conditions for potential future uses have yet to be defined.

If you’re interested in Cord Blood Banking, I’ve included some options, differentiators and costs of these services for you to explore below.

Private Cord Blood Companies You Can Explore

1.    CBR  (Cord Blood Registry): Cord Blood Registry is the largest stem cell bank with over 1 Million Stem Cell samples stored. They have several licenses and accreditations including: aabb and CLIA  accredited and they are FDA registered. CBR offers a comparison chart to see how their services compare to ViaCord and Cryocell HERE.

• CBR charges $1330 for Cord Blood Processing + $200 annual storage fee. They offer a “process discount” currently, so the total amount listed is $925 for processing fees + $200 in storage fees.

• CBR charges $2,625 for Cord Blood + Tissue Processing + an annual storage fee of $400. Their website currently notes a discount for processing, so the total amount is currently $1,750 + $400 in annual storage fees.

2.    ViaCord is one of the most established private cord blood banking services. ViaCord invests in funding research around stem cell treatments. They have a comparison chart on their website so you can see how their services directly compare to CBR and Cryocell here.
• ViaCord charges $690 for Cord Blood Processing + $185 annual storage fee.  
•  ViaCord charges $1,230 for Cord Blood + Tissue Processing + an annual storage fee of $370

3. CryoCell –Cryo-Cell offers both a Public Cord Blood and Tissue Banking program and a Private Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Program. They have a patented processing technology called PrepaCyte-CB that advertises itself as being able to recover significantly more viable stem cells than other processing methods, leading to better therapeutic outcomes.

Cryocell is partnered with Duke University to study how cord blood and cord tissue may potentially benefit patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, autism in addition to adult stroke victims, MS, osteo-arthritis and Covid-19 amongst others.
• Cryo-Cell charges $1500 for Cord Blood Processing + $185 annual storage fee. 

• CryoCell charges $2,470 for Cord Blood + Tissue Processing + $370 annual storage.

• CryoCell charges an additional $350 for Cord Blood Processing using their patented Prepacyte ®-CB processing.

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