Cord blood
Whether to collect blood from the umbilical cord at birth for possible future medical use: do nothing, donate to a public bank, or pay a private bank to store it.
Should we bank or donate our baby's cord blood?
In short: Parents choose between 3 main approaches: Do nothing; Donate to a public bank; Private banking. Evidence: well established. Guidance and evidence agree. The real question is whether you'll follow it. Best settled: during pregnancy.
- Evidence
- Well established
- Best settled
- During pregnancy
- Part of
- Pregnancy to first birthday
Cord blood: what are the options?
Parents usually land on one of these 3 approaches.
1. Do nothing
The cord blood is not collected.
2. Donate to a public bank
You give the cord blood to a public bank, where it may help someone who needs a transplant.
3. Private banking
You pay a company to store the cord blood for your own family's possible future use.
Cord blood: what does the evidence say?
Well established. Guidance and evidence agree. The real question is whether you'll follow it. (Settled against routine private banking)
AAP (2017 policy statement): no scientific evidence supports banking a newborn's cord blood for that child's own later use, though directed storage makes sense when a sibling has a condition cord blood could treat, and donating to a public bank is encouraged
Sources
What else is worth knowing?
Cord blood contains stem cells that can be used to treat some blood and immune diseases. Public banks make donations available to anyone who needs them; private banks store it for your family for a fee. Collection must be arranged before the birth.
Questions to ask each other
- Does the cost or the idea of private storage appeal to either of us?
- Would we want to donate publicly if our hospital offers it?
- How much does this matter compared with other decisions on our list?
More in Pregnancy, birth and arrival
- Prenatal genetic and carrier screening
- Vaccines in pregnancy and the RSV route
- Care provider and labor support
- Birth setting
- Midwife or doctor
- Choosing a hospital and what to ask
- Planning a home birth
- Water birth
- Pain management and preparation method
- Elective induction at 39 weeks
- Cesarean on request
- Delayed cord clamping
- Placenta
- Finding out the sex
- Birth plan philosophy
- Who is in the room
- Announcing the pregnancy and the birth
- Naming and surname
- Visitors and the first weeks
- Postpartum support model
- Postpartum mental-health plan for both parents
First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.