Comparison guide to newborn stem cell companies

We want you to have all the information you need to make the best decision for your family. That's why we created this simple guide.

Industry Experience

Newborn stem cell units stored||
CBR 900k
Viacord* 400k+
CryoCell✝ 250k
StemCyte 80k
Americord 45k
Lifebank 32k
CBR Viacord* Cryo-Cell†
Number of newborn stem cell samples stored 900K 400K+ 250K‖
Number of families who have used their cord blood stem cells 500+ 400+ 81+
Number of clinical trials the company has invested in 5 2 0‖
Has a special-access program for families with a qualifying medical need Yes
Newborn Possibilities Program offers expanded access
  • Siblings
  • Parents
  • Prenatal diagnosis
  • Low Apgar protocol
 Yes
Sibling Connection
  • Siblings
  • Premature births delivered at Prentice Women's Hospital
 Yes
Donor Transplant Program
  • Siblings
  • Parents
Offers a program for families to participate in a health registry to help advance the science of newborn stem cells Yes
Family Health Registry 		No No
Provides families access to Certified Genetic Counselors or clinical specialists to discuss how newborn stem cells may be applicable to the family Yes
CBR has a dedicated staff of Certified Genetic Counselors 		No No
Most recommended by OB/GYNs4 and expecting parents

Company's stability and history

CBR Viacord* Cryo-Cell†
The company owns its storage facility Yes Yes‖ No‖
The company has a strong corporate structure and financial stability Yes
subsidiary of California Cryobank, the world’s largest donor sperm and egg bank. Privately held by the investment firm, GI Partners. 		Yes
subsidiary of Perkin-Elmer, a publicly-traded biotech company with a multi-product portfolio 		Unclear
a publicly-traded company with a single product portfolio
Location of storage facility Arizona
(Historically low risk of natural disasters) 		Kentucky
(High tornado risk) 		Florida
(High hurricane risk)
Accreditations:
FDA Registered
AABB
ISO Certified    ISO 9001:2015    ISO 13485:2003

Cord blood collection and processing

CBR Viacord* Cryo-Cell†
The collection bag was designed to help maximize the cord blood collection volume
Anticoagulant Dry heparin Liquid CPD Liquid CPD
Processing method used to prepare cord blood for cryopreservation AutoXpress® Platform (AXP®) (automated process) Hespan
(manual process)		 Hespan or PrepaCyte® (manual process)
Multi-compartment storage bag

Processing method

Average post-processing mononucleated cell (MNC) recovery data as reported from research studies. Results are not indicative of routine client processing data.

Chart showing average post-processing mononucleated cell (MNC) recovery for AXP (~98-99%), Hespan (~86%), and PrepaCyte (~84%)

Cord tissue collection and processing

CBR Viacord* Cryo-Cell†
Storage method Whole/segments§ Cell suspension Whole/segments
Collected and transported in Cordprep which is designed to hydrate and minimize contamination during transportation to the lab. Yes No No
ActivCord™ test performed to assess the health of your baby's cord tissue Yes No No

Learn more about ActivCord™ and the potential benefits of preserving cord tissue

Answers to common collection and processing questions

Why is the cord blood collection bag important?
Your healthcare provider will use the collection bag to collect the cord blood after birth, once the umbilical cord has been clamped and cut.
  • More cells can lead to better outcomes,10,11 that’s why we designed our cord blood collection bag to help collect the largest volume possible.
  • CBR’s collection bag has unique features designed to help your doctors maximize the cord blood collection volume, such as the ActiveFlo® Chamber.
What is an anticoagulant?
Blood naturally starts to clot when its outside the body. An anticoagulant is used to help prevent the cord blood from clotting while it is in transit to the laboratory for processing. CBR deliberately chose to use lyophilized (dry) heparin as the anticoagulant because of some potential advantages, including:
  • Dry heparin doesn’t dilute the collected cord blood, giving your healthcare provider better visual feedback on the collection volume
  • CBR presented data from a single study showing that dry heparin helps maintain better cell viability and cell concentration of cord blood over a 48-hour period compared with the anticoagulant CPD71
  • Heparin has been used as an anticoagulant for over 75 years in various applications.92

    Learn more about lophylized or dry heparin.
Why does the processing method matter?
“Processing” refers to separating the important components of the whole cord blood before cryopreservation. There are many methods used to process cord blood that can achieve the same goal: storing the important cells for potential future use. However, it’s important to point out some differences between methods:
  • The “cell recovery rate” is often used to compare processing methods. Expressed as a percentage, the cell recovery rate tells you how many cells are retrieved from the original cord blood collection, once plasma has been removed and red blood cells have been reduced or removed. It is expected that some cells will be lost during processing, and most processing methods have published cell recovery rates between 80%—99%
  • Cord blood banks will use some sort of processing method, and the above stats are metrics that we look at for processing efficiency. CBR proactively decided on AXP with dry heparin because we believe that utilizing this combination yields the best sample for our clients
Why did CBR select AXP® for cord blood processing?
CBR was thoughtful and innovative in selecting this processing method in part because it is uniform, precise and reliable.
  • AXP is an automated, closed processing method. Having a closed processing method reduces the risk of contamination and automation maintains consistency.
  • AXP is also used by the largest public cord blood bank, the New York Blood Center®.
  • The cord blood cell recovery data reported by CBR and others is consistently higher than the published, available data of other processing methods including PrepaCyte® and Hespan, when combined with CPD.
  • Our studies suggest that combining our collection bag containing heparin with the AXP processing platform yields a high cell recovery, which we know is important to our families.
Why isn’t cord tissue “treatment-ready”?
While some companies may advertise their cord tissue preservation service as “treatment-ready”, this is a misnomer. In the U.S. there are currently no treatments available that use cord tissue cells. Without knowing what the treatment protocols may look like in the future, preserving the cord tissue sample whole today means that all of the available cell types in this precious resource may be available to your family in the future.

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* Accessed 12.11.18 www.viacord.com
† Accessed 03.07.17 www.cryo-cell.com
§ CBR Systems, Inc.'s activities for New York State residents are limited to collection of umbilical cord tissue and long-term storage of umbilical cord-derived stem cells. CBR Systems, Inc.'s possession of a New York State license for such collection and long-term storage does not indicate approval or endorsement of possible future uses or future suitability of these cells.
‖ If information was not available on company website, data was based on the best information available.
¶ "Newborn stem cell units" refers to cord blood and cord tissue samples
†† Cancellation Policy: You will be charged after your baby is born. If you cancel after enrollment, you will be charged $150.