Public or private banking?
Experts from medical fields all agree that cord blood is a valued source of stem cells and, if possible, it should be collected and stored. The following table shows a summary of the differences between banking cord blood privately and donating it for the public use.
| You ensure your child has quick and exclusive access to stem cells if it ever needs them. |
Donating cord blood is a humane deed. By doing this you can help patients in need of hematopoietic stem cells from a donor. |
| Nearly every family can decide for private storage excluding cases where the mother suffered a serious infection during the pregnancy. |
The donor mother must undergo a selection process based on certain criteria given by the legislature and the requirements of transplant centers. |
| After collection cord blood of your child is processed and cryopreserved for future use. |
Suitable cord blood is selected for international exchange, where it is available for patients anywhere in the world. Rejected cord blood (cca 70%) can be used for research or is destroyed. |
| The child has full and exclusive rights to its cord blood. |
Donated cord blood is in the ownership of the public cord blood bank. The parents have no guarantee that it will be available for the child if it is needed. |
| The parents pay a single payment for the collection and processing and a yearly payment for storage. |
There is no payment by parents if cord blood is donated. All costs are paid for by cord blood bank. |
| The parents don't pay any additional cost when cord blood is used for transplantation; the procedure is covered by health insurance. |
The parents don't pay any additional cost when cord blood is used for transplantation; the procedure is covered by health insurance. |