How are the banking and medical options intertwined?
If parents donate their child’s cord blood to a public bank for free, they are not guaranteed to be able to get it back, but their child may “be the match” which saves a patient’s life. Remember that 70% of transplant patients are searching for a donor outside their family. Donations save the lives of patients now. If parents pay to save the cord blood privately in a family bank, they are guaranteed to have it, if that child or a close family member needs it. Family banking may save a loved one’s life in the future.
