What is the Cord Blood Banking Cost?

Cord blood banking is becoming an increasingly popular option for families with new babies, as they plan for the future. An infant’s cord blood can be used to treat a wide variety of diseases either for the baby, after he or she is grown, or close relatives.
However, cord blood banking is also expensive. Cord blood banking cost easily runs to several thousand dollars over 18 years.
There are two separate fees that make up cord blood banking cost. The first is the initial collection fee. There is some variation in the collection fee, but usually it runs between $1500 and $2500 dollars. The fee includes the materials to collect the cord blood, a way for it to be transported to the cord blood bank, testing the blood, and processing it for storage so that it will remain usable for years.
Due to the high expense, many facilities are offering payment plans to make the cord blood banking cost more affordable for families. These payment plans can vary from 6 months to 4 years of monthly payments.
The second fee is the annual cost of storing the cord blood. This is typically around $100 to $150 a year. This is usually paid annually, but some cord blood banks offer a discount of several hundred dollars if 18 years are paid in one lump sum.
One other factor in cord blood bank cost is saving the placenta. Many cord blood banks offer the option of storing the placenta as well as the cord blood. Storing the placenta increases the amount of blood that can be saved, reducing that possibility that there would not be sufficient blood if needed for a transplant. Saving the placenta as well as the cord blood typically increases the initial fee by around $1000 dollars, and the annual fee by around $100 dollars.