Mission Statement

The primary mission of the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood is to provide parents with impartial education about cord blood medical research and cord blood storage options.   This web site explains the medical motivations for banking umbilical cord blood, and the difference between public bank donation versus paying for private storage.

The second mission of the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood is to conduct and publish statistical analyses on medical research or policy developments which could expand the likelihood of cord blood usage.

The Parents Guide to Cord Blood is dedicated in memory of my daughter Shai Miranda Verter

Shai Miranda Verter
Dec. 9, 1992 - Sept. 2, 1997

• All public cord blood banks which collect donations in the United States are listed, irrespective of their business model or accreditations. 
  
• This website hosts the only compilation of public US banks that is a single complete list.
  
• An international list of private/family cord blood banks is provided, sorted by geographic region. 
  
• This website hosts the only international list of private cord blood banks which is actively maintained. 
  
• There is a table of private banks which compares their features and prices at a glance.
• A consumer questionnaire provides a guide to evaluate the services of private banks.
  
• This website also compiles a summary of diseases which have been treated by blood stem cells.  It is the first disease summary to sort the treatments by whether they are standard, trial, or experimental therapy.
• This is the only website devoted to cord blood banking which is accredited by the international standard for medical websites, HON, since 2001.

This website was founded in 1998 with the motivation of performing a public service.  All content of this website is © copyright by Dr. Frances Verter, and may not be repeated without permission and citation.  As of 2007, this website is part of the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation (see About Us).