Cord Blood Public Donation OptionSM

FamilyCord is pleased to announce we are now offering a Cord Blood Public Donation OptionSM. Our Cord Blood Public Donation Option combines the best aspects of both private and public cord blood banking, offering families the opportunity to make the miracle of their baby's cord blood available to others in need. It enables parents to store their baby's cord blood stem cells privately with the option to list their stored cord blood unit on a donation registry after a minimum of 10 years of private storage.

The benefits of the Cord Blood Public Donation OptionSM program are:

• By choosing the Cord Blood Public Donation Option, parents not only protect their families, but they may also benefit others in need
• By listing your cord blood unit on a donation registry, families are proactively helping to reverse the shortage of publicly available cord blood units
• By enrolling in the Cord Blood Public Donation Option, families have more choices for their stored cord blood in the future

How it works

1. Upon enrollment with FamilyCord, indicate your interest in participating in the Cord Blood Public Donation Option program. Due to additional testing and paperwork necessary to determine eligibility for cord blood public donation, the decision to participate in the Public Donation Option program has to be made upon enrollment. If you decide not to take advantage of the Cord Blood Public Donation Option at the point of enrollment, it will not be possible to list your cord blood on a public registry at a later date.
2. Complete and sign the Public Donation Option Addendum, which includes a separate health questionnaire required for public donations of cord blood. Upon receiving the completed agreement, we will ship the cord blood collection kit.
3. After the cord blood has been collected and shipped to our facility, we process, test, label and evaluate the cord blood for public donation eligibility as determined by publicly accepted standards and practices.
4. If the cord blood meets all the requirements for public donation, the unit will be stored with FamilyCord for a minimum of ten years before you are eligible to exercise the option to list your cord blood unit on a donation registry.
5. After ten years of storage, you have the option to either continue to store your cord blood unit for your family's exclusive use or to list your cord blood unit on a public donation registry. If you decide to list your cord blood unit on a public donation registry, simply contact FamilyCord at any time. We will not list your cord blood unit unless we receive written instructions from you.
6. If your cord blood unit is requested for donation, FamilyCord will contact you for your final consent to donate. Upon receiving your written consent, the cord blood unit is no longer yours. If the unit is chosen and released for a transplant, you may be eligible for a refund of some or all of the fees you paid for processing and storage.
7. Cord blood donated to the public is a gift. It cannot be sold. If the unit is chosen and released for a transplant, you may be eligible to receive a refund of some or all of the processing and storage fees. The purpose of the Cord Blood Public Donation OptionSM is to allow you to make a "gift of life" to others in the event that you decide not to store your cord blood unit for your exclusive family use.

For more information about our Cord Blood Public Donation OptionSM, please see our Public Donation Option FAQs page or contact a cord blood educator at 800-490-CORD (2673).