Americord Registry, a private cord blood, cord tissue, and placenta tissue banking company, announced today that it is introducing a new policy for client reimbursement. Starting immediately, Americord will offer full reimbursements for cancellation fees that are often incurred by parents who sign up with other cord blood banks.
"There is an existing practice throughout the cord blood banking industry that penalizes parents for changing their minds," said Americord CEO Martin Smithmyer. "Americord has never implemented cancellation fees, but we don't think parents should have to pay those fees to other cord blood banks either."
Cord blood banks like Cord Blood Registry, Viacord, and Stemcyte charge cancellation fees if parents choose not to banks their baby's stem cells privately or if they choose to go with another bank. These fees deter parents from obtaining their stem cell collection kits well in advance of the baby's due date, and lock them into the first cord blood banking service that they enroll with. Going forward, parents who are currently enrolled with another cord blood bank and decide to store their stem cells with Americord will receive compensation for cancellation fees associated with their previous bank.
"We hope that this policy will give parents the freedom to do their research without fear of penalty," said Smithmyer. "Cord blood banking is a big decision, and expecting parents should always have the flexibility to change their minds."
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