Storing Umbilical Cord Blood: Is It Worth the Price?

Umbilical cord blood contains stem cells that can be used for stem cell transplants, a lifesaving treatment for dozens of medical conditions, including:

• Leukemia, cancer of the blood or bone marrow

• Lymphoma, cancer that affects immune system cells

• Sickle cell disease, also known as sickle cell anemia, which affects red blood cells

What you do with your baby’s umbilical cord blood is a personal decision. Some people donate or store the cord blood. Others have the umbilical cord discarded with the placenta. Knowing more about cord blood storage can help you make the right choice for you and your family.

What is umbilical cord blood banking?

Umbilical cord blood banking offers access to the potentially lifesaving benefits of stem cells. It’s important to know the different cord-blood banking options:

Cord blood donation hospitals

These are hospitals or birthing centers that participate in cord-blood donation. After childbirth, a medical professional will collect the cord blood from your baby’s umbilical cord. The collected blood is shipped to a cord-blood bank for storage. Some cord-blood donation hospitals also function as banks.

Public cord bank

The process for donating to a public cord bank is similar to donating blood. Your umbilical cord-blood donation is added to a national registry, and it becomes available for anyone who needs a stem cell transplant. Public cord-blood banks must register with the FDA, are subject to inspection, and must comply with tissue-handling requirements. Public cord banks also cover the costs of processing, testing, and storing donated cord blood.

Private cord bank

Umbilical cord blood is reserved for your family’s use when stored in a private cord bank. These facilities must register with the FDA and comply with regulations designed to prevent infectious disease transmission. As for-profit outfits, private cord banks can be costly. This service can cost about $1,000 for collection and processing, plus about $200 a year for storage. You may be charged separately for a collection kit and could be charged extra if you don’t pay up front in full. After the cord blood is collected and processed, you can save on annual storage by buying 18 or 20 years in advance — to save cord blood for the expected duration of a newborn’s childhood and young adult years — or a lifetime plan.

How does storing umbilical cord blood work?

The process of storing umbilical cord blood is different depending on whether you’re donating to a public or private cord-blood bank.

Public cord-blood storage

Donating cord blood is free because public cord banks cover the costs of processing, testing, and storage. The FDA oversees how public banks operate, which can give you peace of mind that your donation will be safely processed and stored. Anyone who is a match can use your donated cord blood for treatment.

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Private cord-blood storage

Private cord banks, also known as family cord banks, let you store cord blood for your relatives in case of a medical need for a matching family member.

What are the benefits of storing umbilical cord blood?

Access to umbilical cord blood presents several benefits in medical care:

• Collection doesn’t risk the health of the mother or baby. The cord blood can be drained from the placenta and collected during the last stage of labor or after delivery. Collecting bone marrow, another source of stem cells, can be painful for the donor.

• Cord blood is easier to harvest than bone marrow.

• Cord blood matches to more people than bone marrow, which means more individuals can be treated.

• Compared with bone marrow, cord blood poses a lower risk of attacking the recipient’s body — a condition known as graft-versus-host disease — which increases the likelihood of a successful stem cell transplant.

What are the disadvantages of storing umbilical cord blood?

When you store umbilical cord blood in a private bank, there’s no guarantee the stem cells will match someone in your family. That’s why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) doesn’t recommend storing cord blood as “biological insurance” for your relatives against future disease. Cord blood also doesn’t have that many stem cells, so units from several donors may be needed for one treatment.

How much does storing umbilical cord blood cost?

There is no cost to store umbilical cord blood if you’re working with a public bank or have the collection done at a cord-blood donation hospital. Private cord-blood bank costs vary and depend on the services you choose.

Collection, processing, and initial storage

Typically, you’ll pay about $1,000 for collection, processing, and initial storage at a private cord-blood bank. Collection may be done by the bank or via a self-collection kit (which is sometimes an additional, up-front fee). Your costs can be reduced if the cord-blood bank you choose is offering discounts. You might also receive a special offer if you’re banking for twins or other multiples. Your private cord bank may match a lower price you find elsewhere.

Annual storage

An annual storage fee is an additional cost that averages about $200 a year. Instead of paying every year, long-term storage (18 to 20 years) and lifetime storage can be more affordable options. This route often requires an up-front payment of $3,000 to $5,000 — but prepaying storage fees for multiple years can offer savings.

Additional services

Many cord blood banks also offer other services, such as storing:

• Cord tissue

• Embryos

• Ovarian tissue

• Placental tissue

• Testicular tissue

There are many public cord-blood centers and more than a dozen private or family cord-blood banking companies in the U.S., according to the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation.

Sampling of cord-blood private banking costs

Note: Private and family cord-blood banks may service people across the U.S.; prices reflect offers at time of publication; paying monthly instead of annually can cost more; storage rates may increase over time.

How long can umbilical cord blood be stored before it expires?

When umbilical cord blood is stored, it’s cryogenically frozen. Then it’s placed under liquid nitrogen to help the stem cells remain useful for decades. It’s not clear when cord blood expires, but stem cells from cord blood have been successfully transplanted after 18 years in storage.

Is it better to donate or keep umbilical cord blood?

Storing umbilical cord blood for your family in a private bank does not guarantee that your relatives will benefit. For example, if someone in your family needed a stem cell transplant, a sibling’s stem cells would have only a 25% chance of being a match.

ACOG and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that families donate cord blood to public banks. Cord blood donated to public banks is used 30 times more often than cord blood stored in private banks.

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Written by:

Alejandro Rubio

Alejandro Rubio, known as Alex, is a freelance writer born and raised in Los Angeles. He holds a master’s degree in English from California State University, Long Beach.

Edited by:

Cindy George, MPH

Cindy George, MPH, is the senior personal finance editor at GoodRx. She is an endlessly curious health journalist and digital storyteller.

Reviewed by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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