Lawsuit claims parents are forced into a service that their child will never use.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against CBR Systems Inc. (CBR), the nation’s largest private cord blood bank, alleging the company engaged in “reprehensible” and deceptive marketing practices to exploit the anxieties of new parents.
The lawsuit, filed in Travis County, claims CBR used high-pressure, emotional sales tactics to convince parents that banking their newborn’s umbilical cord stem cells privately was a vital “insurance policy” for their child’s future health, despite medical evidence suggesting the service is largely unusable for its advertised purpose.
According to the filing, CBR’s business model relies on “weaponizing a parent’s instinct to protect their kids.” The Attorney General’s office argues that while CBR advertises that private banking can treat over 80 serious medical conditions, the reality for most families is starkly different.
The lawsuit highlights several key allegations:
Near-Zero Utility: The odds of a child ever needing or being able to use their own cord blood for the advertised treatments are statistically “nearly zero.”
Insufficient Samples: Privately collected samples are often insufficient in volume for successful transplants.
Misleading Success Rates: Most successful cord blood transplants worldwide utilize public banks, a fact the lawsuit claims CBR intentionally obscures.
Diversion from Public Good: By scaring parents into private contracts, CBR allegedly diverts thousands of units of cord blood away from public banks where they could actually save lives.
The lawsuit claims that major organizations, including the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), generally recommend public cord blood donation over private storage.
Attorney General Paxton is seeking civil penalties and permanent injunctive relief to stop CBR from continuing its current marketing practices in Texas.
WFAA has reached out to CBR Systems for a statement and will update this story when we learn more.