Cord Blood Banks

Parents have two options when storing their child’s umbilical cord blood: private banks and public banks. Private banking is a service available for parents to store their child’s cord blood and cord tissue so that they will have access to them if they ever need them. Public banking means donating your baby’s cord blood to an international registry, making the unit publicly available so that any patient worldwide who needs a stem cell transplant can potentially use it. While public donation is meaningful, it’s much harder to donate than it used to be due to a low number of public banks at hospitals. Below is a clear view of both options.

Private banks

Private cord blood banking is an option for parents who want to help protect their families’ future health by securing exclusive access to their child’s stem cells. The cells are available only to the family if ever needed in the future. Private banking is most beneficial for:

  • Families with a history of certain cancers, blood disorders, immune and metabolic conditions;
  • Families who are interested in the growing landscape of personalized regenerative medicine opportunities.

Below you will find the 2025 top private cord blood banks ordered chronologically by years of experience. The list is separated into two categories:

  1. Private banks that own and operate in-house laboratories, which allows them to retain control over all aspects of processing and storage. Cord blood banks that own their own labs are able to offer a superior level of quality and security, but may have higher upfront fees.
  2. Private banks that contract with third-party vendors to handle the processing and long-term cryogenic storage of the cord blood collection. Their marketing and customer services are in-house only. This allows them to advertise lower prices; however, they cannot offer the same level of quality control over how the cord blood and cord tissue are processed and stored.

When choosing a bank to trust for your family, we strongly recommend researching the top five companies below that own and operate their own laboratories and storage facilities.  Because these companies maintain state-of-the-art facilities with comprehensive backup systems designed to protect the stored cells in any weather event or emergency, geographic location is no longer a concern.  You can read more tips on choosing the right private bank here.

Cord Blood Banks that Operate In-house Labs

Cord Blood Banks with Third-Party Labs

Researching private banks and their offerings may feel like an overwhelming task.

We’ve created a comparison guide to help. 

 

Public Banks

While private banks store cells for your family, donating stem cells to a public bank can save lives and help researchers test new therapies. Public banks accept donated cord blood for use by any patient in need, supporting global registries like the National Marrow Donor Program. While this choice is meaningful and valuable, it is significantly less accessible in previous years. Find out more about public banking here.