Best Cord Blood Banks Of 2023

For our Best Cord Blood Banks Of 2023 ranking, the Forbes Health editorial team analyzed data across top private cord blood banks in the U.S. Rankings and star ratings were determined and assigned based on factors including cost, fees, payment options, customer service, additional services offered and accreditation.

Cord blood is the blood in a baby’s umbilical cord and placenta immediately after birth. It contains unique cells called hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat patients with blood diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as other disorders such as sickle cell disease. In fact, stem cells from cord blood can treat approximately 70 specific diseases.

Stem cells are used for blood cell regeneration—they can be transplanted in a person with cancer, for instance, where they will grow healthy blood cells. Stem cells are also found in the tissue of the umbilical cord, which has proven to be useful in treating some diseases, according to a 2018 review in Stem Cell Research Therapy^[1]Arutyunyan I, Fatkhudinov T, Sukhikh, G. Umbilical cord tissue cryopreservation: a short review . Stem Cell Research Therapy. 2018;9 236. .

Typically, after birth, the baby’s umbilical cord and placenta are discarded. But with cord blood banking, blood is collected from the umbilical vessels immediately after birth, packed in a special collection bag and sent to a cord blood bank for long term storage. The cord blood can then be used at a later date if needed for treatment.

There are two kinds of cord blood banks—public (free) and private (fee-based)—which can save and store a newborn’s cord blood for years. If parents decide to have their newborn’s umbilical cord blood saved and stored, they can choose either type of bank, based on their family’s health needs and personal preferences.

• Public: “A public blood bank serves everyone,” says Mariam Naqvi, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “In the same way that blood banks depend on volunteer donors, public cord blood banks depend on parents who choose to donate their baby’s cord blood, so that anyone who may need those stem cells to treat certain diseases can receive them, at no cost to the donating parents. Public cord blood banks are typically funded by state or other donations.” Ask your OB-GYN if your hospital works with a specific public cord blood bank or check out Be the Match for a public cord blood bank near you.
• Private: When you arrange for cord blood storage with a private bank, the stem cells in your baby’s cord blood will be stored only for use by your family. For many diseases, a patient’s own cord blood cannot be used for treatment because it contains the same mutations that cause the disease—but stem cells from a patient’s cord blood can be used to treat a sibling who may have these diseases. You pay the private company to preserve this cord blood. “The way it can potentially be used is if the baby’s sibling has a known disease that can be treated by a stem cell transplant,” says Dr. Naqvi. “If we know about that apriori, then cord blood banking may make sense for that family.” Some hospitals work with specific private cord blood banks.

If you decide to go the route of private cord blood banking, some factors to consider are pricing, services available (some banks offer genetic counseling, for instance), mechanisms in place for quality control, and discounts. Some private banks may consider a discount to a family with a child or sibling who has a known disease that can be treated with cord blood, says Dr. Naqvi.

However, beware of unrealistic claims, warns the Food and Drug Administration. Don’t be taken in by statements that cord blood is a miracle cure-all for diseases. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not currently recommend private cord blood banking, due to the fact that it is typically underused, lacks strict regulatory oversight, is expensive and may be of lesser quality than cord blood stored in public banks. Instead, it recommends public cord blood banking as the recommended cord blood storage method, and states, “there is a more limited role of private cord blood banking with families with a known fatal illness that can be rescued by a healthy cord blood transplant within the family.”

“It is an emotional decision, to do something that is potentially lifesaving to your child many years down the line,” says Dr. Naqvi. “Parents want to do anything to potentially benefit their children.”

Still, absent of the presence of a known medical condition that can be treated by stem cell transplantation in the family (a blood disease, for example), the chance that the cord blood will be used is slim. And the cost is significant. “One thing I say to my patients is that having kids is very expensive. Cord blood banking for the purpose of autologous transplantation [use for the baby] is a cost for which there may be little proven benefit currently.”

“But the other costs are not going away,” she adds. “If you have the financial means to pay for private cord blood banking, the decision is easier. For other patients it’s tough—especially when it’s presented as potential lifesaving.”

If you have questions about how banking your baby’s cord blood might work for your family, talk to your OB-GYN—they know your personal health history and are also familiar with cord blood banking.

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