This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a new policy urging public cord blood donation. Public cord blood donation is free and available at INOVA Fairfax.
INOVA Fairfax-Hospital sends public cord blood samples to The NY Blood Center (NYBC). NYBC founded by Dr. Pablo Rubinstein, is the world’s first public cord blood bank, and for over two decades was the largest single public bank in the world.
“In public banking there’s a much greater chance that the blood will actually be used to treat conditions,” says Dr. Joanne Stone, Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at Mount Sinai Health Care in New York. “In private banking it can only be used by that one family, and the chance of using it that way is much less than the chance of using it in a public bank.”
To learn more about cord blood banking, visit Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation at https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/banks/ny-blood-center-national-cord-blood-program