This comparison shows how StemCyte ranks against the three other major U.S. private cord blood banks, CBR (Cord Blood Registry), ViaCord, and Cryo-Cell, across regulatory status, clinical track record, processing method, public bank access, and pricing. StemCyte, Inc. is the only private cord blood bank in the U.S. with an FDA-licensed cord blood product (REGENECYTE® under US License 2280), and one of the only organizations in the world that operates both a private and a public cord blood bank. StemCyte was founded in 1997 and is FACT and AABB accredited.
Our comparison, line by line.
Comparison to CBR, ViaCord, and Cryo-Cell, line by line. Every claim publicly verifiable.
Every claim below is publicly verifiable. We update it when competitors publish new data, and we'll always say when something they offer is better than what we do.
| StemCyte Baldwin Park, CA | CBR Tucson, AZ | ViaCord Hebron, KY | Cryo-Cell Oldsmar, FL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documented transplants shipped | 2,300+ released to 325+ transplant centers worldwide. Over 3× any peer's published count.1 | ~700 "units released" total. CBR's own data shows ~80% used for experimental/regenerative infusions, not transplants.2 | 500+ "released for transplant or research." Not broken out by use.3 | ~157 family-bank releases: 100 transplants + 57 research infusions.4 |
| FDA-licensed cord blood product (REGENECYTE®) | US License 22806 | None | None | None |
| FDA RMAT designation for Long COVID | Granted 20246 | None | None | None |
| FACT accreditation9 | Since 2006 | Not accredited | Not accredited | Since 20144 |
| AABB accreditation8 | Since 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Origin | Founded as a public bank in 1997. The only major U.S. private bank with this origin.1 | Founded private. No public bank.2 | Founded private. No public bank.3 | Founded private (1989). Public banking added 2018 via Cord:Use acquisition.4 |
| Headquartered in California | Baldwin Park, CA. The only major U.S. private cord blood bank headquartered in California. | Tucson, AZ | Hebron, KY | Oldsmar, FL |
| Chosen by a state government as a public-program partner | Selected by the State of California as the statewide collection partner for its public cord blood donation program.5 | Not selected | Not selected | Not selected |
| Global lab presence | Operations in the U.S. and internationally. | U.S. only | U.S. only | U.S. only |
| Company-sponsored clinical trials | 3 active: Long COVID, cerebral palsy, ischemic stroke7 | 0 (storage only) | 0 (storage only) | Limited MSC research |
| Premium processing: volume preserved | MaxCell® plasma depletion · 100 mL preserved (vs. ~25 mL standard) | ~25 mL standard | ~25 mL standard | PrepaCyte-CB (~25 mL) |
| Public Bank Access program | Gives families access to our public bank inventory plus the global registry. A standard registry search costs $35,000 to $50,000. Public Bank Access reduces that to a flat $299. | Not offered | Not offered | Not offered |
| Multi-ethnic inventory focus | Decades of active collection in Latino, Asian, and African American communities. Mixed-ancestry and underrepresented families often can't find a registry match. Our inventory was built to change that.10 | Not a stated focus | Not a stated focus | Not a stated focus |
Comparison reflects publicly available information as of May 2026. Where a competitor publishes a figure, we use theirs. Where they don't break out a category we report, we say so plainly rather than estimate. Cord blood is an established treatment for hematopoietic reconstitution; other applications are investigational and in clinical trials. Public Bank Access is a paid add-on with StemCyte.
- StemCyte company materials, 2026. Cumulative transplants delivered (2,300+) and transplant centers served (325+); 1997 founding as a public bank, private banking added 2005; U.S. and international operations; publicly listed parent company; MaxCell® plasma-depletion processing (100 mL preserved volume); Public Bank Access program details. See also our Track Record and Public Banking pages. · PR Newswire announcement (Taiwan public banking, 2025)
- Cord Blood Registry (CBR), cordblood.com. "About CBR" page states 700+ families have used CBR-stored cells, with 80% of releases used for experimental regenerative therapies (i.e., not standard transplants). AABB accreditation referenced; FACT accreditation not claimed. Founded 1992; processing lab in Tucson, AZ. cordblood.com/about-cbr · Parents Guide to Cord Blood News
- ViaCord, viacord.com. 500+ cord blood units "released for transplant or research" (combined; not broken out by use). AABB accreditation for cord blood and cord tissue; FACT accreditation not claimed. Founded 1993; lab in Hebron, KY; parent company Revvity (NYSE: RVTY). viacord.com
- Cryo-Cell International (NYSE American: CCEL), cryo-cell.com and investor press releases. Founded 1989; Oldsmar, FL. AABB accredited. FACT accreditation originally granted April 2014, most recently re-accredited through April 2029. Public banking added via 2018 Cord:Use acquisition (Duke University partnership). PrepaCyte-CB processing. Family-bank releases per Parent's Guide to Cord Blood (Dec 2025): 100 transplants plus 57 research infusions (~157 total); a full line-by-line transplant/infusion matrix is published at cryo-cell.com. Cryo-Cell transplant matrix · Parent's Guide to Cord Blood (Cryo-Cell) · FACT re-accreditation press release
- State of California: Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program (UCBCP). StemCyte serves as the statewide collection partner for California's public cord blood donation program, established under California Health and Safety Code §1645. CA-UCBCP contract renewal (2024)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Approved Cellular and Gene Therapy Products. REGENECYTE® (HPC, Cord Blood) under US License 2280 (BLA 125764), approved 2024. FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation granted for Long COVID indication, 2024. FDA Approved Cellular and Gene Therapy Products list · REGENECYTE® package insert (PDF)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: StemCyte-sponsored studies. Three active company-sponsored programs: Long COVID (NCT05682560), cerebral palsy, and ischemic stroke. NCT05682560 · NCT02140944 (IMPAACT P1107) · All StemCyte-sponsored trials · RMAT designation announcement
- AABB: Accredited Cord Blood Facilities directory. All four banks compared (StemCyte, CBR, ViaCord, Cryo-Cell) hold AABB accreditation. StemCyte accredited since 2002. AABB Accredited Cellular Therapy Facilities
- NetCord-FACT: Accredited Cord Blood Facilities directory. StemCyte accredited since 2006; Cryo-Cell accredited since 2014 (see source 4). CBR and ViaCord do not appear on the FACT directory as of May 2026; their own public materials reference AABB accreditation but do not claim FACT. FACT directory (StemCyte, Inc.) · FACT directory (StemCyte Taiwan)
- StemCyte Public Banking page: active collection in underrepresented communities. Through the California UCBCP, StemCyte has banked thousands of units from Latino, Asian, and African American families. HLA matching depends on shared genetic markers tied to heritage; mixed-ancestry and underrepresented families face the steepest registry-match gaps. See Public Banking.
What parents actually ask.
StemCyte and CBR differ in four publicly verifiable ways.
- FDA status: StemCyte's REGENECYTE® product is FDA-licensed under US License 2280; CBR does not have an FDA-licensed cord blood product.
- Documented transplants: StemCyte has released 2,300+ cord blood units to 325+ transplant centers worldwide; CBR has reported approximately 700 total releases, with publicly available data indicating roughly 80% were used for experimental regenerative infusions rather than standard transplants.
- Accreditation: StemCyte holds both AABB and FACT accreditation; CBR holds AABB but does not claim FACT.
- Origin: StemCyte was founded in 1997 as a public cord blood bank and added private banking in 2005; CBR was founded as a private bank. All four claims are sourced on this page.
StemCyte and ViaCord differ on regulatory status, transplant volume, and accreditation.
- FDA status: StemCyte's REGENECYTE® product is FDA-licensed under US License 2280; ViaCord does not have an FDA-licensed cord blood product.
- Transplant track record: StemCyte has documented 2,300+ transplants worldwide; ViaCord reports 500+ units 'released for transplant or research' as a combined figure, not broken out by use.
- Accreditation: Both hold AABB accreditation; StemCyte additionally holds FACT accreditation, which ViaCord does not claim. ViaCord is a subsidiary of Revvity (NYSE: RVTY).
Yes. StemCyte's REGENECYTE® product is FDA-licensed under US License 2280, making it the first commercial HPC, Cord Blood product to receive an FDA Biologics License. REGENECYTE® was also granted FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation in 2024 for Long COVID. To be precise: it is StemCyte's specific REGENECYTE® product that is FDA-licensed, not cord blood as a category. CBR, ViaCord, and Cryo-Cell do not have FDA-licensed cord blood products.
Based on publicly published figures as of 2026, StemCyte has the highest documented transplant count among the four major U.S. private cord blood banks: 2,300+ units released to 325+ transplant centers across more than 40 countries. CBR reports approximately 700 units released, with public data indicating roughly 80% were used for experimental regenerative infusions rather than transplants. ViaCord reports 500+ units 'released for transplant or research' as a combined figure. Cryo-Cell publishes a line-by-line family-bank transplant/infusion matrix; per Parent's Guide to Cord Blood (2025), the breakdown is approximately 100 transplants plus 57 research infusions (~157 total).
Yes. StemCyte has been FACT (Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy) accredited since 2006 and AABB accredited since 2002. Among the four major U.S. private cord blood banks, only StemCyte and Cryo-Cell hold FACT accreditation (Cryo-Cell since 2014). CBR and ViaCord hold AABB accreditation but do not claim FACT accreditation in their public materials. FACT is the cellular therapy accreditation jointly developed by the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy and the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.
StemCyte sponsors three active company-sponsored clinical trials: Long COVID (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05682560), cerebral palsy, and ischemic stroke. CBR and ViaCord do not sponsor cord blood clinical trials (they offer storage only). Cryo-Cell has conducted limited mesenchymal stem cell research. StemCyte is also a collaborator on IMPAACT P1107, the HIV/cord-blood transplant study (NCT02140944) that produced the documented case of HIV remission in 'the New York patient' in 2023.
This page compares StemCyte to the three other major US private banks in the same regulatory tier: CBR, ViaCord, and Cryo-Cell. Americord is the fifth bank most US parents consider. For a broader buyer's-guide comparison across all five major US private banks ranked on eight criteria, see our 2026 best cord blood bank guide.
The fairest comparison is honesty.
Ask any bank to show you the data behind their claims. We'll always show you ours.
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