Who Owns Your Baby’s Cord Blood?

Banking your baby’s cord blood is a way to save it for your baby’s future.  Some people wonder if the cord blood will be available if it is needed.  If you bank it with a private cord blood bank, it will definitely be available.  A private cord blood bank stores the cord blood for you, and you pay for the right to own it and have it whenever and if ever you should need it. Since you don’t have the equipment, supplies, and expertise required to process and store your cord blood, a cord blood bank takes care of it, but it is always your cord blood.

With a public bank, you are donating the cord blood so others can search for a match and, if yours matches, they will be able to use it.  While you no longer retain ownership of it, it is available if anyone needs it for treatment.  With a public bank, while you are unlikely to get access to your own child’s cord blood, you may investigate the possibility that someone with a match has donated their child’s cord blood.

It is a relatively new topic and it is easy to confuse private with public cord blood banks and misunderstand the difference between storing their baby’s cord blood and donating it.  Hopefully, this explains things better.  To get more information on cord blood banking, visit M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories.



Leave a reply