Private vs. Public Banking

Cryo-Cell believes that cord blood should be saved, not discarded. While public cord blood banks serve a very useful purpose, parents should be fully informed of the considerations prior to deciding whether to donate their newborn’s cord blood to a public bank or preserve it for their family’s potential future use. It’s important to understand the differences before making the decision that’s right for you.

Private Banking vs. Public Banking
	Private Banking	Public Banking
Individual's Rights to Cord Blood Stem Cells	Client owns the cells; full rights are preserved.	None. Donor relinquishes ownership upon donation.
Cost to Donor	Client pays a one-time processing fee and annual storage fees.	No cost. Generally, there is no cost to the donor, nor is a fee paid for the donation.
Collection Sites	The collection for family banking can occur virtually anywhere.	Limited access to collection services. Public banks only collect cord blood at a limited number of locations.
Access to One's Cells	Virtually assured. Client controls the use of his or her cells.	Not guaranteed-public banks have a first-come, first-served policy. When needed, a donor's cells may already have been used by someone else. In addition, only about 40% of the donated cord blood will meet the criteria to process and store; the other donated blood samples are discarded or donated for research. So, there is a reasonably high likelihood that a specific sample will not be in the public bank's inventory.
Cost to Retrieve Cells for Transplant	Cryo-Cell: None.	Costs can range from $15,000 - $25,000 per unit
Availability of Specimen for Timely Transplants	Immediately available, once a match is confirmed.	Search and match process may take weeks or months; ultimately, a match may not be located.
Transplant-Related Complications	In general, there is a lower incidence of severe Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD) when using cells donated by a matched sibling.	Varies.
Opportunity for Matching	Autologous (self): 100% Match is guaranteed. Siblings: 1-in-4 chance of a perfect match.	Varies. It can be especially difficult to obtain matched cells in public banks for ethnic minorities and mixed ethnicity couples.
Future Therapeutic Opportunities	Family banking creates the opportunity for use of one's own cells for future cellular therapies to potentially treat stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and other serious medical conditions.	Uncertain. Donating cells to a public bank makes it less likely that the cells will be available to the donor for use in future therapies.