Cord Blood can only be collected immediately following the birth of a child. Please learn about your options ahead of time so that you can make an educated decision about what you will choose to do with this valuable life saving resource.
Banking for your family – There are many choices of private banks available to families for banking cord blood stem cells for your family. Some of these banks are public and some are private, some are small and some are larger. It is important to research your options before making such an important decision, just like you would when considering a medical insurance policy for your family
Donating cord blood – Many countries have a national cord blood banking system. Unfortunately the US is not one of them. There are banks in the US which do take donations from the general public in certain areas. Some of them are for profit brokers who sell the cord blood to patients and research facilities, and others are set up as non-profit collection centers. Most of them all connect their databases to the National Marrow Donor Program, which conducts searches for patients needing cord blood for transplant or treatment. It is important to understand that once you give your cord blood away, it will most probably never be available to you or your family. If you have decided not to bank privately for your family, please consider donating it to one of these collection facilities as opposed to throwing away this valuable resource.
Throw it away – Out of approximately 4.2 million births in the US every year, only about 2% of cord bloods are collected. The rest are tragically discarded as medical waste.
Featured Video
Cord blood treats cerebral palsy
Dallas Hextell "was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but is now showing fewer signs of the disorder and marked improvement after an infusion of his own stem cells" — made possible by the preservation of his own cord blood.
