Cord Blood Banking Comparisons
Cord blood banking has become a vital resource in the medical industry. There are currently many private cord blood banks across the US where you can go to for cord blood storage. However, the fees charged for processing and storing can be quite steep. Fortunately, there are certain cord blood banks under the National Marrow Donor Program or NMDP that do not charge exorbitant fees. The list below features two NMDP-member cord blood banks in comparison with each other and with non-NMDP cord blood banks.
Children's Hospital of Orange County Cord Blood Bank
Address: 455 South Main Street
City State: Orange County , California
Phone: (714) 516-4335
website:/www.choc.org
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The Children's Hospital of Orange County Cord Blood Bank has devoted itself to the betterment of each child's welfare in Orange County . This devotion has led them to achieve a higher level of research and technology in storing and processing cord blood. Though the facilities in this bank are not at par with those of private cord blood banks, they are still capable of giving the best quality of service. The blood bank is under the NMDP that imposes a set of strict rules and regulations in donating cord blood. These guidelines ensure the best quality of cord blood and also ensure the safety of the recipients of the donations. To learn more about its programs, you can visit its website at http://www.choc.org.
Puget Sound Blood Center
Address: 921 Terry Avenue, Northwest Tissue Center
City, State: Seattle , WA 98104
Phone: (206) 292-1896
Website: www.psbc.org
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Before you can donate marrow to this cord blood bank, you need to possess certain requirements imposed by the NMDP. However, if you are considered ineligible by the NMDP, you can still help by providing financial support to the institution. The Puget Sound Blood Center is currently searching for more donors from other races. According to the institution, it will be easier to find a compatible match if the donor is of the same race as the recipient. However, the current supply of donations from other races is quite low. To give you an idea, here are the percentages of donors that the center has gathered:
Caucasian: 75%
African American: 8%
Asian: 5.9%
Hispanic: 8%
Native American: 1.3%
Multi-Racial: 1.7%
Given this problem, the center aims to become a more diverse center that can offer its services to patients of any race.
Comparison
There really is no difference between these two cord blood banks under the NMDP. This is because each and every member follows the same rules and regulations imposed by the NMDP. This means that the quality of their services and facilities is the same. You can be sure that these banks will not run out of supply of cord blood because they belong to a vast network of cord blood banks. Each member of the NMDP has access to the 40,000 cord samples stored in the program's banks. The stock is also increasing every moment due to the influx of millions of volunteer donors.
But when it comes to choosing between non-NMDP cord blood banks and NMDP members, some people still prefer to go to non-NMDP cord blood banks. This is because the level of the quality of services and facilities is much higher in these cord blood banks. Furthermore, most of the non-NMDP cord blood banks are also the leading researchers of cord blood, so you can be sure that they are up to date on the latest technology, procedures, and research on cord blood. However, these cord blood banks charge a very high price for their services.