Banking umbilical cord blood stem cells today may be of great health benefit for you tomorrow. Stem cells are found in the placenta which is attached to the umbilical cord. These stem cells can be used later to treat genetic and hematopoietic disorders. In this regard banking stem cells can possibly save lives in the long run. Those who opt to bank cord blood in order to use the stem cells later will find that there is more than one option available regarding how to bank cord blood.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates banking cord blood. Cord blood can be privately or publicly banked and both options offer different benefits. The FDA ensures that cord blood is collected safely and is stored properly. Whether using a public or private blood bank option, persons should ensure that the blood bank of choice is in fact accredited.
Private versus Public Cord Blood Banking
Private cord blood banking offers more personal options thank public cord banking. However, private cord banking is also significantly more expensive than public banking. In fact, private cord blood banking can cost up to hundreds of dollars in storage per year as well as one time up-front costs. Public cord blood banking is the recommended choice and the cord blood collected is made available to anyone who may need it and not only one family. Public banks may provide greater options in finding a match. This is especially where adults are concerned. In fact, the likelihood of finding a match in a public bank is in excess of 90%. In the case of private banks, sometimes the cord blood is used from both the private banks in a given case depending on the condition of the needy patient and how much of the stem cells may be needed.
Whether you decide to go with private or public banking, the decision to bank your baby’s cord blood is a once in a lifetime decision. Once the baby has been born, if the cord blood is not banked or stored it is discarded and the stem cells thereof cannot be used in the future. As such, the decision should be carefully considered.