FAQ

The decision to transfer the material was made by CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland, which is currently in the process of liquidation and does not provide the services to which it has committed in contracts concluded with clients.

In 2019 CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation entered into, a so called “Backup Agreement” with FamiCord Group to ensure the continuity of storage of the biological samples. According to this agreement the samples were transported from different locations (including Switzerland, Belgium, Germany) to  FamiCord Group’s cutting-edge laboratory in Warsaw.  The process has been performed with the highest security measures, with the consent of the relevant European authorities and under the watchful eye of experienced FamiCord Group experts. This Agreement was signed for the period of 5 years. The contract expired in February 2024 and since then the samples of Clients of the Swiss company CryoSave AG in Liquidation have remained without a regulated legal situation.

CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland decided to entrust this service to our bank, due to the fact that FamiCord Group is regarded as the most reliable bank among European banks, their highest storage standards, and many years of very good financial standing.

FamiCord Group is, by all means, the largest stem cell bank in Europe and one of the largest in the world, storing more than 1000 000 different stem cells specimen for nearly 500  thousand families, excluding samples transferred from Swiss company CryoSave AG in Liquidation. FamiCord Group is present directly or indirectly in: Albania, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Egypt, Estonia, Italy, Hungary, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania Serbia, Slovenia Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and Ukraine, Uniated Arab Emirates. FamiCord Group’s 15 ultra-modern and specialized laboratories process over 37% of the umbilical blood portions collected annually in Europe. FamiCord Group has a robust financial background and is controlled by German investment fund Active Ownership Capital.

FamiCord Group is the highest quality laboratory in Warsaw. It  is also one of the largest and one of most modern laboratories in family stem cell banking sector worldwide. The laboratory holds accreditations of national and international authorities as well as many renowned institutions including the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Technischer Überwachungsverein (TUV).

To learn more about FamiCord Group, please visit our website at https://famicordcryobank.ch/home.

We are not a Party of contracts between you and CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation, therefore we do not know what obligations resulting from the contract (if they were obliged to inform all Clients) are not able to provide the reason why the previous cryo preservation provider did not contact  all the Clients.

It is worth mentioning that this was an emergency transport. The purpose was to prevent the sudden thawing of the material and was to ensure the continuity of the storage of the biological material FamiCord Group managed to secure samples of Clients of CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation , but had no impact on its communication policy. We as FamiCord Group believe that the right to information is one of the key rights of the Client., so we try to reach out to all customers and inform them of the situation.

In order to check whether your material is stored with us, we kindly ask you to provide information that will enable us to identify the material sample and, at the same time, verify your legal right to this biological material. Typically the samples have been split into few subunits.

Please provide such data at  https://famicordcryobank.ch/contact-for-clients-of-the-former-service-provider/check-your-sample

When filling out the form, please note whether you provide data in the required format. To confirm that your form has been received by FamiCord Group, you will receive an automatic  message to the e-mail address you provided.

Confirmation of the storage of all your samples in the FamiCord Group laboratory will be send as soon as possible. If we are storing  samples of your child and you have completed the contact form correctly, you should  receive a confirmation  in  no more than a few days from the date of filling form. This will be true for the majority of the Clients. In rare cases, as explained further, this may take longer. If we only match at least one subunit belonging to your family, you will be promptly informed about it.

Please remember that due to GDPR regulations, in order to inform you regarding stored samples we need your explicit consent – that is why, filling the provided form is essential!

When filling in our contact forms you must enter the contract number (usually in XXX/XX/XXXXX format) – if you leave this field empty, the form will not be sent. However, if you don’t know the contract number, please type “I don’t know” and then include any additional details in the comment such as the child’s date of birth, mother’s and father’s name, as much additional information as possible that can help with verification. The contract number contains very useful information which enables FamiCord’s specialists to verify whether the biological material is stored in FamiCord’s laboratory quicker. However, not knowing the contract number does not limit your legal rights to the biological material. Instead, we may request certain additional information or documents. To be able to contact you – please remember to provide us with correct e-mail address.  FamiCord Group is a company focused on meeting the needs of Parents and taking care of biological samples of your Children. We are dedicated to help you successfully identify your samples even with limited information.

FamiCord Group is the most experienced bank in Europe with the safe transport of stem cells to transplantation centres all over the world. It means that during the transfer, jall the standards and requirements (technical, medical and legal) regarding biological material transport, are met.

So far we have sent several units transferred to our laboratory, for transplantation.

FamiCord Group will support Parents throughout the procedure and will be responsible for the release of the material to the clinic. During this process we will ask the Parents to send us a set of signed documents e.g. permission for conducting the tests on the reference sample and for sharing the documents with the transplant centre. After completing the formalities, our Medical Director gives permission to release the sample.

That is why it is essential to sign a new contract and secure the legal status of the samples. Only in this case are we able to provide parents with comprehensive and professional support.

When signing the contract, we recommend purchasing packages that will facilitate the issuance of material for treatment. Details can be found on our website: https://famicordcryobank.ch/services

If you need to use your biological material, please contact us as soon as possible, so we can assist you with the process and provide you with all the necessary support. Contact us on: info@famicordcryobank.ch or call us: https://famicordcryobank.ch/contact-for-clients-of-the-former-service-provider/call-us

That case may concern you if you have signed a stem cell storage agreement with CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation  or or other companies with which this company was associated:

In these cases, you should also complete our contact form: https://famicordcryobank.ch/contact-for-clients-of-the-former-service-provider/check-your-sample to check whether your child’s samples have been transferred to the largest FamiCord Group laboratory in Warsaw.

Execution of the contracts with FamiCord Group does not require termination of the contract between Parents/Child and CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation. It is discretionary decision of the parents what to do with their existing contract. Contracts create legal relations only between their parties, so execution of contract with FamiCord Group formally, does not affect existence of the contract with other entities and your rights arising from such a contract.

It is understandable that termination of the contract with your CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation prior to the execution of a contract with FamiCord Group may provide more clarity in the legal relations, but it is not necessary and in any way required by FamiCord Group.

As of the expiry date of your backup contract, the status of your samples is unclear, so we recommend signing a new contract as soon as possible. The contract should be signed without undue delay, as it is necessary to properly secure the samples that are safely stored PBKM FamiCord high-tech Laboratory.

It should be emphasized that PBKM FamiCord is not a legal successor of CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation, nor it is responsible for any obligations of this company to its customers. Therefore, in order to continue storing samples from FC, it is necessary to conclude a new contract (in electronic version on our website):  https://client.famicordcryobank.ch/en/client/km/step-1

The amount of material taken over is so huge that some processes must be carried out automatically. The decision regarding the selection of the next storage period at this stage is necessary to ensure efficient service of such a large and diverse pool of customers. We believe that customers aware of the value of such valuable biological material will want to continue storing samples in the coming years. However, at any time during the contract period, parents may resign from continuing it or change the previously declared payment period.

The terms of the contract are the same for all customers – you can read them before making a decision:

https://famicordcryobank.ch/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EN_famicord_agreement_document.pdf

Our primary objective was to help the company and its affected by the situation customers. If no action had been taken, storage of clients samples could be at risk. FamiCord Group is a socially responsible company. We believe that it is our obligation to help families in need.

We have incurred additional huge costs (a big transport over 50 tanks from few countries, creating a dedicated multilanguage call center, manual samples verification process, lawyers etc.) and we do made no profit by deciding to take care of samples, formerly stores across Europe.

FamiCord Group is a for-profit organization, therefore we would like to offer customers, whose samples have been transferred to the laboratory in Poland, our paid services. We also hope that in the future more Parents (Clients) will choose FamiCord Group as a trustworthy partner, knowing that we are a socially responsible company, operating on the highest medical and business standards.

Finally, as far as possible future benefits for FamiCord Group are concerned, we hope that Parents who have met us in this difficult situation as a responsible company will either choose us FamiCord Group to store their next children’s material or recommend it to their friends. And in such a scenario, FamiCord Group can potentially count on measurable future profit results, having been in a situation from which no short-term profit benefits derived.

FamiCord is represented in 34 countries. with15 laboratories located in Europe and around the world, such as Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, Hungary and others

In the contract or by means of a separate statement, the customer will be able to indicate, where their samples are to be transferred, from the FamiCord Group laboratory in Warsaw for further storage. A fee for transferring biological material from the FamiCord Group laboratory in Warsaw to one of the laboratories that may be mentioned in the contract, will be indicated in the Price Table in the contract.

We strongly recommend to leave the material where it is currently stored – in Warsaw, Poland. For the time being, only around 5% of Parents made the choice to relocate their samples outside of Warsaw. FamiCord Group Central Laboratory in Warsaw, Poland is the largest and ultra-modern laboratory of the Group, which means that all restrictive safety and medical standards are me.

First, customers should complete the contact form on our website: https://famicordcryobank.ch/contact-for-clients-of-the-former-service-provider/check-your-sample

For former customers of CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidationwe have set up a dedicated team that you should contact directly to get information about stored samples. Our consultants are available from Monday to Friday 9:00 – 16:00 CET in the following languages:

	Bulgaria (Bulgarian and English) +48 221 230 299
	Hungary (Hungarian and English) +36 14453973
	Italy (Italian and English) +39 0289735043
	Netherlands (Dutch, German, English) +49 34122389994
	Serbia (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin and English) +38 1114250189
	Greece (English) +48 221 230 298
	Spain (Spanish and English) +34 937370283
	Switzerland (Italian, German, French and English) +41 315087679
	Poland (Polish and English) +48 224364050 IVR: 1,4

You can contact us also by e-mail at: info@famicordcryobank.ch

Discounts for subsequent contracts are as follows:

• Second child – 20%
• Third child – 30%
• Fourth child – 40%

Discounts will be added in the e-shop, based on the previous contract number.

After concluding the contract, we will issue a certificate confirming the storage of biological material in the FamiCord laboratory .

We have already issued thousands of new certificates for customers who have decided to sign a contract with FamiCord Group.

We ensure that during the transfers, which were supervised by a group of experts, all the standards and requirements (technical, medical and legal) for the safe transportation of biological material were observed. Cryogenic containers were equipped with special sensors to measure temperature. Any opening of container for checking the samples was filmed. Additionally, all transfers were covered by FamiCord‘s Group insurance policy provided by a group of insurance companies. Whole transfer process was planned very precisely and with details with logistic specialists. We did not notice any of adverse events during the transport. Since the transfer was completed, the biological material is stored under strict controlled conditions in FamiCord laboratories.

Since the transfer was completed, the biological material is stored under strict controlled conditions in FamiCord laboratories.

Along with the samples, FamiCord Group has also received the database which includes partial information regarding Clients. Among these data are also contract and sample numbers. The contract number and the sample numbers are individual designations ascribed solely to one contract and one sample. In our opinion such data is fully sufficient to confirm that the given biological material belongs to your child.

Furthermore, there have already had cases in which we had to release the biological material transferred to our laboratory for medical treatments and the samples in fact belonged to the patients and there were no objections to their quality.

FamiCord Group is responsible for the biological material from the moment in which it was received from For former customers of CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation. . For obvious reasons FamiCord Group cannot be held liable for the quality of the sample, its preparation and storage before this reception; however, there are no reasons to consider that For former customers of CryoSave AG registered in Switzerland in liquidation could prepare and store the biological material improperly as their laboratories had all the necessary accreditations and met all the highest standards to store the biological material.

In order to ensure the most accurate information regarding the quality of the transported samples, FamiCord Group had agreed to a proposal deriving from a group of Italian parents to have a third-party laboratory perform a series of viability and biocompatibility tests on samples of their children. Those tests have proven beyond any doubt that the biological material did indeed belong to the owners and that it had been properly stored over the years. You can find more details on our website https://famicordcryobank.ch/completion-of-the-viability-and-hla-tests-of-biological-material-samples-stored-originally-by-the-former-service-provider

We shall underline however we have identified visible quality issues with 0,3% of checked sub-units.