Cryo-Cell International
Customer Feedback on Cryo-Cell International
Cryo-Cell Oct 2000:
CryoCell boasts its own "state-of-the-art laboratory" where your cord blood is processed and stored. They claim that this is one way they keep their costs down.
They do state in their contract that "The Unit where the specimen is to be stored may be operated and controlled by a separate party. CCEL has provided a Unit to that party for storage of specimens from people who have signed processing and storage agreements with CCEL." Their consent forms specify that "The specimen will be stored in a CCEL owned unit. Consent is expressly given to store a variety of specimens in the Unit. The specimen may be stored with any other type of specimen in the Unit but no other specimen will be commingled with the Specimen or placed in the same vial where the specimen is stored."
They also reserve the right to transfer the specimen to another Unit or transfer the location of the unit or to transfer any or all of CCEL's rights under the agreement.
The above makes me a bit nervous, is this customary in the legal contract and consent?
Cryo-Cell has an on-call person there to call you back at I assume whatever time you like, as I spoke to them rather late one night.
-- Karen Kelly
Cryo-Cell Nov 2000:
Feedback -- in the end you are right -- once you pick a bank you put the hassle behind you and try to get on with other things in life (like the fruitless search for sleep...). I am neither thrilled nor unhappy with my choice. I would have appreciated being notified that the sample was successfully processed and stored PRIOR to getting the bill for those services. When I sent in my payment I did make a notation on the bill that let them know I was less than pleased. Although I was never contacted directly about it, shortly thereafter I did receive a brief note stating the total volume collected and the approximate number of cells stored. I have no idea what in the hell either of those things mean in the practical world, and if I was less sleep deprived I might have had the energy to call them up and annoy the crap out of them to explain it, but I simply don't have the energy at this point.
Would I recommend them? Yes. I found both their literature and their phone staff consistently very knowledgable and helpful. Are they the best thing out there? I can't answer that -- probably CBR's many years of experience and success in transplantation put them as leaders of the pack. Although whether that experience is worth spending 5 times as much is questionable. I kind of like the under-dog nature of CCEL, and the fact that my David of a company recently beat out the Goliath CBR in a million dollar law suit.
Anyway -- I am off to pretend I might actually get some sleep before little miss "I haven't nursed in 17 minutes, and dammit you are trying to starve me to death?" wakes up again. :-) Feel free to print, edit, or return to me with a big "what the hell are you trying to say?" attached!
-- Karen Kelly
Cryo-Cell April 2002:
Finally, CryoCell did apply for AABB certification, and I called the lady from the AABB who's number you gave on your web-site, and she verified that information. She said that they shouldn't have any trouble getting certified by the end of the year. The biggest drawback to me was that it also seemed fishy that they bank 30,000 samples and have had no transplants.
-- M in PA
Cryo-Cell Oct 2002:
I was pleased with our experience with cryocell. I was last minute and needed the packet overnighted...which they did for a small extra fee. The phone reps were very helpful and walked us through the process of collection and shipping. Their prices are the best out there, but you get great service and good follow-up. My doc also said that the directions and the packet were simple to use.
-- NE in CA
Cryo-Cell Feb 2003:
I wish this had a more fruitful outcome for us, but it definitely was a learning experience. My husband and I were convinced that storing our baby's cord blood was a good idea. Using information from this very helpful website, my research focused on companies that are accredited. It was the only way for me to quickly eliminate others from the field.
The first company I liked was California Cryobank. However I quickly learned that there are subtle differences in how each company processes and stores the cord blood.
Here's what I liked about CA Cryobank:
The reasons I decided not to pursue them further:
The second company I liked was Cord Blood Registry.
All I can say is that their customer service is top-notch. While they are more sales-pitch oriented than other companies, they know their stuff about their company's processes and will compare/contrast with their competitors. I was impressed with their "extra-mile" attitude to make me feel comfortable with their company. In terms of their handling of the cord blood, I liked their processes. It made sense to me, and I liked the fact that they have approximately 40,000 clients and 25 transplants.
The reason I was not inclined to go with them is their very high fees. I felt that I was supporting their heavy marketing efforts with my money. While it's true their processes are probably superior, I personally can't imagine that the cord blood process/storage justifies significantly higher prices.
The third company I liked was Cryo-Cell. To me, they seemed to blend together the best of California Cryobank and Cord Blood Registry.
Here's what I liked about Cryo-Cell:
We were ready to go with Cryo-Cell. Unfortunately, a damaging St. Petersburg Times newspaper article was recently published that sent all my reassurances about the company down the drain. Without delving into details, my confidence in the company was shattered even though the company disputes some of the allegations made in the newspaper article.
Out of pure frustration with spending so much time and energy researching these companies, we decided in the end not to store our baby's cord blood. It was a complete turn-around from our original position. I still don't know if it's the right decision or not for us, but I just felt that the industry is too young for our tastes. It's my hope that more structured oversight is put into place to protect consumers.
There are so many subtle differences between the companies, and the technology is so new; it was difficult for me to sort out what cord blood storage/processes are important, what was worth the money, and when I was given a sales-pitch. I wish all those who are considering storing cord blood the best of luck with finding a company that suits your needs.
-- K.W.
CryoCell boasts its own "state-of-the-art laboratory" where your cord blood is processed and stored. They claim that this is one way they keep their costs down.
They do state in their contract that "The Unit where the specimen is to be stored may be operated and controlled by a separate party. CCEL has provided a Unit to that party for storage of specimens from people who have signed processing and storage agreements with CCEL." Their consent forms specify that "The specimen will be stored in a CCEL owned unit. Consent is expressly given to store a variety of specimens in the Unit. The specimen may be stored with any other type of specimen in the Unit but no other specimen will be commingled with the Specimen or placed in the same vial where the specimen is stored."
They also reserve the right to transfer the specimen to another Unit or transfer the location of the unit or to transfer any or all of CCEL's rights under the agreement.
The above makes me a bit nervous, is this customary in the legal contract and consent?
Cryo-Cell has an on-call person there to call you back at I assume whatever time you like, as I spoke to them rather late one night.
-- Karen Kelly
Cryo-Cell Nov 2000:
Feedback -- in the end you are right -- once you pick a bank you put the hassle behind you and try to get on with other things in life (like the fruitless search for sleep...). I am neither thrilled nor unhappy with my choice. I would have appreciated being notified that the sample was successfully processed and stored PRIOR to getting the bill for those services. When I sent in my payment I did make a notation on the bill that let them know I was less than pleased. Although I was never contacted directly about it, shortly thereafter I did receive a brief note stating the total volume collected and the approximate number of cells stored. I have no idea what in the hell either of those things mean in the practical world, and if I was less sleep deprived I might have had the energy to call them up and annoy the crap out of them to explain it, but I simply don't have the energy at this point.
Would I recommend them? Yes. I found both their literature and their phone staff consistently very knowledgable and helpful. Are they the best thing out there? I can't answer that -- probably CBR's many years of experience and success in transplantation put them as leaders of the pack. Although whether that experience is worth spending 5 times as much is questionable. I kind of like the under-dog nature of CCEL, and the fact that my David of a company recently beat out the Goliath CBR in a million dollar law suit.
Anyway -- I am off to pretend I might actually get some sleep before little miss "I haven't nursed in 17 minutes, and dammit you are trying to starve me to death?" wakes up again. :-) Feel free to print, edit, or return to me with a big "what the hell are you trying to say?" attached!
-- Karen Kelly
Cryo-Cell April 2002:
Finally, CryoCell did apply for AABB certification, and I called the lady from the AABB who's number you gave on your web-site, and she verified that information. She said that they shouldn't have any trouble getting certified by the end of the year. The biggest drawback to me was that it also seemed fishy that they bank 30,000 samples and have had no transplants.
-- M in PA
Cryo-Cell Oct 2002:
I was pleased with our experience with cryocell. I was last minute and needed the packet overnighted...which they did for a small extra fee. The phone reps were very helpful and walked us through the process of collection and shipping. Their prices are the best out there, but you get great service and good follow-up. My doc also said that the directions and the packet were simple to use.
-- NE in CA
Cryo-Cell Feb 2003:
I wish this had a more fruitful outcome for us, but it definitely was a learning experience. My husband and I were convinced that storing our baby's cord blood was a good idea. Using information from this very helpful website, my research focused on companies that are accredited. It was the only way for me to quickly eliminate others from the field.
The first company I liked was California Cryobank. However I quickly learned that there are subtle differences in how each company processes and stores the cord blood.
Here's what I liked about CA Cryobank:
- The customer service representatives seemed very honest, informative and helpful.
- They have been in business for many years as a sperm/tissue bank
- Their fees were reasonable.
The reasons I decided not to pursue them further:
- They store the cord blood in bags, rather than vials.
- CA Cryobank apparently only partially removes red blood cells during processing.
- They have approximately only 3,000+/- clients with no transplants to date. While I like an underdog, it did concern me that other companies have significantly more clients in what seems like a competitive business.
The second company I liked was Cord Blood Registry.
All I can say is that their customer service is top-notch. While they are more sales-pitch oriented than other companies, they know their stuff about their company's processes and will compare/contrast with their competitors. I was impressed with their "extra-mile" attitude to make me feel comfortable with their company. In terms of their handling of the cord blood, I liked their processes. It made sense to me, and I liked the fact that they have approximately 40,000 clients and 25 transplants.
The reason I was not inclined to go with them is their very high fees. I felt that I was supporting their heavy marketing efforts with my money. While it's true their processes are probably superior, I personally can't imagine that the cord blood process/storage justifies significantly higher prices.
The third company I liked was Cryo-Cell. To me, they seemed to blend together the best of California Cryobank and Cord Blood Registry.
Here's what I liked about Cryo-Cell:
- Their customer service representatives are registered nurses, not trained sales people
- Their prices are very low and quite amazing for an accredited company
- I was reassured by their storage/processing procedures.
- They have, I think, the most clients out of all the companies, and I figured there was safety in numbers.
- I like how they store part of the cord blood in Florida and part of the cord blood in Arizona to ensure that if a natural/unnatural disaster strikes at one facility, you still have cord blood at the other.
We were ready to go with Cryo-Cell. Unfortunately, a damaging St. Petersburg Times newspaper article was recently published that sent all my reassurances about the company down the drain. Without delving into details, my confidence in the company was shattered even though the company disputes some of the allegations made in the newspaper article.
Out of pure frustration with spending so much time and energy researching these companies, we decided in the end not to store our baby's cord blood. It was a complete turn-around from our original position. I still don't know if it's the right decision or not for us, but I just felt that the industry is too young for our tastes. It's my hope that more structured oversight is put into place to protect consumers.
There are so many subtle differences between the companies, and the technology is so new; it was difficult for me to sort out what cord blood storage/processes are important, what was worth the money, and when I was given a sales-pitch. I wish all those who are considering storing cord blood the best of luck with finding a company that suits your needs.
-- K.W.
Letzte Änderung: 21.January 2010
Copyright 2000 - 2010 Frances Verter
Copyright 2000 - 2010 Frances Verter