Public and Private Banks – Sharing a Common Goal

Seeing the value in cord blood stem cells.
Public and Family banks know the value of cord blood stem cells. Both experience, firsthand, how cord blood stem cells help treat patients who suffer from one of nearly 80 life-threatening diseases and appreciate the attention cord blood stem cells are gaining in a new area of research called regenerative medicine. It’s no surprise then that both Public and Family banks seek to raise awareness about the value of cord blood stem cells to the expectant parents of the approximately 4 million newborns in the U.S. each year.

That’s 4 million opportunities to preserve a potential life-altering medical treatment option for the future. But unfortunately, all too often, the umbilical cord and the valuable stem cells it provides are discarded as medical waste.

When you know the value of cord blood stem cells you understand that, whenever possible, taking action is essential. It’s also important to know the features and benefits of both Public and Family banking in order to make the decision that works best for your family.Public and Family Banks: An Overview

	Public Cord Blood Donation	Family Cord Blood Banking
Availability	Currently, roughly ~3% of hospitals in the US can facilitate public cord blood donation. Read more in our recent blog post about the availability of public banking.	A mother can deliver her baby anywhere in the country and still collect and save the cord blood.
Matching/ Treatment Success	There is no guarantee that your family will be able to find a match based on the number of units available in the public banking system combined with the lack of diversity of inventory. Read more in our blog post about finding a match.	There is no guarantee that a family banked unit will be a match for a sibling, but there is a significantly greater chance of finding a match.  However, transplants from family members are nearly twice as successful as those received from a non-related donor.1 Learn why in a recent blog post. And, if an infusion of one’s own cord blood is required, then  the child is always a 100% match to him or herself.
Ownership	A family relinquishes ownership of the stem cells once they’re donated.  If a stem cell source is needed for therapy, they would need to search the public bank inventory for a potential match. Many in need are helped every year through the generous donations of unrelated donors.	A family is guaranteed access to their banked cord blood unit for autologous treatment or allogeneic transplant. It will remain available for the exclusive use by the family for as long as they choose. If at any time a family chooses to cease storing their cord blood unit, an option to donate it to research is offered.
Cost	Donation is free. If a family is in need of a transplant and a suitable match can be found in the public registry, there is a fee associated with retrieving the unit for use. A unit can cost up to $35,0001   which may or may not be covered by insurance.	Families pay an up-front fee, approximately $2500, for the collection, processing and storage of the cord blood and an ongoing annual storage fee of $125.  If a family needs to retrieve the unit for medical need there is no additional cost to the family.

  

Public and Family Banks: a shared mission
Although there are unique differences and benefits of both the Public and Family banking systems, both share an important common goal; to provide potentially life-saving stem cells when a critical medical need arises – something we all can appreciate.

If you’re still researching your options you can:

1. Call ViaCord to speak to a specialist for more information on Family Banking.
2. Call your hospital to ask if they take donations, and if there’s still time to fill out the paperwork

To learn more about how cord blood stem cells are used today to help patients in need, read our blog posts on autologous treatments and allogeneic transplants.

 

 

References:

1. Source: Gluckman, et al. New England Journal of Medicine, 1997; 337:373