One of the most exciting innovations in the medical community in recent years has been the advent of umbilical cord blood banks, and with them, the ability to cryogenically preserve an amount of your kid's stem cell producing umbilical cord-blood, to be used for transplant in case of an emergency one day. This can replace bone marrow in many instances, and is often preferable, because it precludes having to locate a donor - many times not a simple task.

So, what role do the cord-blood banks play?

An important one, actually. First of all, there's a difference between public and personal cord blood banks. Community banks accept donations of umbilical blood and don't charge a storage fee - however, the blood is not banked for the reason of keeping it for the one particular donor infant who it originally belonged to. Public umbilical cord blood banking facilities distribute the cord blood they have banked to anyone with a medical emergency that might need a cord blood transplant.

Private cord blood banking agencies, on the other hand, keep your baby's cord-blood just for your child and for nobody else. Because the cord blood is being cryogenically preserved for one specific recipient, however, there is a substantial cost involved for collection and storage.

The advantage, of course, is that if your child is ever in need of a transfusion, his or her own cord-blood is safely waiting for them at the private cord blood bank.

There's, obviously, some debate - there are those who believe it's morally wrong to for a private institution to charge a fee to preserve what should be freely donated for the benefit of the community, and then there are those who feel that it's a parent's right to use biological material which belongs to their child in whichever way serves their own child's best interest.

The controversy surrounding private versus public cord-blood banking is a severe one. Check out the debate to get all the info, and make sure you're making an informed determination for your child's life.

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