If you are an expectant parent in Australia, you have choices when deciding what to do with your baby’s cord blood and tissue. We encourage parents to understand the differences in order to make an informed decision. Your options are:
Private family cord banking
- Store your baby’s cord blood and tissue for future individual or family use with a private family cord bank such as Cell Care
Public banking
- Donate your baby’s cord blood to a government-funded public cord blood bank for use by anyone needing a transplant
If you do not choose either of these options, your baby’s cord blood and tissue will be discarded at birth.
Private family cord banking
Family cord banks are private companies. The ownership of the cord blood and tissue remains with you and your child and can only be released for use by your child or compatible family members. There are fees charged for their processing and storage services.
Private cord blood collections can take place at any time and in the vast majority of hospitals across Australia.
Over 60% of Australian parents electing to store cord blood and tissue are doing so with private cord blood banks where stem cells are banked for the exclusive use of their child or compatible family members.
Public banking
With a public bank, your baby’s cord blood is a donation, and is available for use in approved therapies by anyone worldwide who is a genetic match. Public banks do not charge for their service, however cord blood stored may not be available for your child or family’s use if the need arises.
Australian public banks collect cord blood during established hours from a limited number of hospitals operated by the National Cord Blood Collection and Banking Network, AusCord. 26