Cord Blood Bank - Public Banks

Public Banks

A primary concern with public banking is how to ensure the safety of the cord blood. Because of privacy concerns, it is agreed by most ethical review boards that blood donated to a public bank cannot be permanently linked to the donor. Although cord blood which is donated goes through a series of tests for potentially harmful genetic disorders and viruses, some genetic disorders such as congenital anemias or immunodeficiencies might not become apparent in the donor for months or years, by which time all identifying information has long been removed. Because the recipient of the blood could also develop these disorders, this is an important concern.

The larger obstacle facing public banks is that the high costs required to maintain them has prevented more than a handful from opening. Because public banks do not charge storage fees, many medical centers do not have the funds required to establish and maintain them.

Because of donation patterns, differing racial groups have different likelihood of finding a match through a public cord blood bank. Caucasians find a match 88% of the time, while other races match just 58% of the time. Public bank advocacy groups are particularly trying to encourage donations by members of non-Caucasian racial groups.

It is also important to note that families who donate their child's cord blood to public banks are not assured their samples will be banked or would be available to them if required at a later date.