There are two ways to store your baby's cord blood — with a public bank or a private family bank.

Public cord blood banking stores cord blood donated by individuals. That blood is then available to anyone who needs a stem cell transplant. Those who donate their cord blood to a public bank are not guaranteed that it will be available if it is ever needed for their own family. In addition, public banking is only available in a limited number of hospitals in the United States.

A family cord blood bank stores your newborn's cord blood stem cells exclusively for your family. If a stem cell transplant is necessary, private banking eliminates the need to search for a matching donor for the child and the uncertainty of trying to source cells from a public bank. There is up to a 75% chance that your baby's cord blood will be an acceptable match for his siblings. It's also important to remember that transplants using cord blood from a family member are twice as successful as transplants using cord blood from a non-relative (i.e., a public source).*