Your due date is approaching and it’s time to decide. Will you be preserving your child’s cord blood and tissue? Well—duh. Of course you are! There’s just one tiny (okay, massive) detail— will you bank publicly or privately? And more importantly, what’s the difference between private and public cord blood banking? Don’t worry, we’re here to explain the breakdown of it all.
Private Banking
Okay—we’ll admit, we’re slightly biased. But, hear us out. Private cord blood banking provides the highest amount of opportunity for you and your family. The most important element to private banking is the fact that the sample belongs to YOU. This means that you, and only you, have the rights to your sample, and you are the only one who can have the sample released for treatment.
When you choose private banking, you’re paying for the service to privately preserve your child’s cord blood and/or tissue for personal medical use. Private banking ensures that it will be available to your family, and no one else. On the other hand…
Public Banking
So what’s the difference between private and public cord blood banking? For starters, public blood banks have very specific regulations on what can and cannot be accepted. For this reason, the majority of blood samples received are discarded and not used. So, what if your baby’s sample did make it into the tank?
While there is typically no cost to participate in public banking, the donor loses all rights to the sample. In contrast to private banking, all samples submitted to public blood banks are considered cord blood donations. This means that all samples submitted to a public bank can be used for anyone and everyone—meaning a child with leukemia may benefit from your baby’s sample, but your family may not.
The decision is ultimately yours to make but if you still have questions about public vs private cord blood banking and what is best for your family, contact an AlphaCord representative for more information at 404.315.6500.
