What Happens If Your Cord Blood Bank Goes Out of Business?
Cord blood storage is a 20+ year commitment, and the industry has consolidated substantially over the past decade. Knowing what happens to your sample in each failure mode is an underrated part of choosing a bank.
Acquisition is the most common scenario
Most cord blood bank 'closures' are actually acquisitions — a larger bank buys a smaller one and migrates samples to its own storage facility. Cord Blood Registry, ViaCord, CryoCell, and Americord have all participated in industry consolidation. Acquired samples are typically transferred to the buyer's accredited storage facility under the original contract terms, though some buyers later restructure pricing at renewal.
Full bankruptcy and shutdown
Outright shutdowns are rarer but have happened. In those cases, the bank's bankruptcy trustee usually arranges transfer of samples to another accredited facility. Some banks build this into their contract explicitly — a 'successor custodian' clause that names a fallback bank. Look for this provision before you sign.
Facility-level failures
Equipment failure (freezer malfunction, liquid nitrogen tank breach, power loss without backup) is the most worrying scenario because it can damage samples even if the company remains in business. Documented incidents are rare, but they have happened. Mitigations: choose a FACT-accredited bank, ask about 24/7 monitoring and alarms, ask whether they split samples across two physically separate storage locations.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What happens to my sample if you're acquired?
- What happens if you declare bankruptcy?
- Do you have a named successor custodian in the contract?
- Do you split-store samples in two locations?
- What's the liability cap if my sample is lost?
- Have you ever had a documented facility-level failure?