Maze Cord Blood Alternatives And Competitors

One of the newer cord banks, Americord has been in operation since 2008. However, their experience goes back over 20 years: their laboratory has been working with cord bank companies since 1997 and has successfully stored over 35,000 units of cord blood.

With AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) accreditation and FDA-regulated lab headquarters in New Jersey, Americord has garnered a strong reputation in its first 12 years of operation. Americord is one of the only cord banks to offer placenta cell storage along with cord blood and tissue storage.

Perhaps the most stand-out feature of Americord is its insurance policy. Most cord banks will reimburse you if your sample fails to engraft, but Americord offers the highest payback rate, at $110,000. Not only that, but the company offers generally competitive rates, no monthly storage fees, and no cancellation fees. While you can customize a plan based on your family’s needs, a one-time payment of around $5,998 will get you 20 years of storage for a single child.

“I created Anja because my brother’s last chance at treatment for cerebral palsy was umbilical cord blood and we couldn’t find a match because we’re mixed race.” -Anja Health Founder, Kathryn Cross Anja Health is a health and technology company providing umbilical cord blood, cord tissue, and placenta banking, being one of the few companies in the world to do so. Their focus is to bring a contemporary lens to cord blood banking.

Founded in 1992, Cord Blood Registry (CBR) is among the oldest cord blood banks in America, with one of the most trusted reputations. CBR operates out of an 80,000 square-foot laboratory in Tuscon, Arizona and has stored more than 875,000 cord blood and tissue samples to date.

Most notable is CBR’s recovery rate of 99 percent, which is the highest published rate of all cord banks.

Recovery rates are important, because you want to pick a bank that will not only securely store your child’s cord blood, but will do so with the highest safety and preservation standards. After all, you may not use your baby’s cord blood until many years down the road.

CBR is fully accredited by the AABB (American Association of Blood Banks), and is FDA and CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) registered. CRB has several flexible payment options, with plans starting at $49 per month.

Customer service is important when you are considering which cord bank to choose. With 24-hour phone support, online customer service chats, and excellent online reviews from customers, Cryo-Cell stands out in terms of customer care and accessibility. If that wasn’t enough, Cryo-Cell has a time-honored international reputation.

Established in 1989, Cryo-Cell was the first recognized cord bank in the world. It has since serviced over 500,000 clients in 87 countries worldwide. Cyro-Cell is accredited by the FDA, AABB (American Association of Blood Banks), and FACT NetCord.

Should you decide to choose Cryo-Cell as your baby’s cord bank, the company offers several built-in protections, including a no-cancellation fee if you change your mind, and a $100,000 guarantee if your baby’s cord is used for transplant but doesn’t successfully engraft. Pricing starts with an initial fee of $1,675 and an annual storage fee of $175, though there are tiered options available depending on your specific needs.

Lifebank USA was among the first banks to offer both cord blood banking and placenta banking. Placenta banking is important because placenta tissue is rich in mesenchymal-like stem cells and has the potential to be used for regenerative medicine therapy, such as organ and tissue replacement.4 Placenta stem cells are being explored for use in immune disorders, spinal cord injuries, blood cancers, and blood disorders.

Founded in 1998, Lifebank USA’s headquarters are located in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey. After your baby is born and their tissue samples are taken, Lifebank offers a courier service that will pick up your collection kit within one to two hours. Your baby’s stem cells are preserved in vapor-phase liquid-nitrogen storage tanks, with 24-hour monitoring.

Lifebank offers multiple payment plans based on which type of banking you choose⁠—options include cord blood, placental tissue, and placental stem cells/placental tissue ⁠— and provides discounts if you register more than one child. For enrollment, collection and processing, and the first year of storage, pricing begins at $1,495. When paid ahead of time for 25 years, storage fees are priced at $125 a year. Lifebank is accredited by the FDA and AABB (American Association of Blood Banks).