3rd Trimester
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Cord Blood Banking
Is anyone doing this, thought about this, done this? I know it cost quite a bit but I was wondering your thoughts on Cord blood banking
Me and my husband are on the fence, it seems like a lot of money but I'd like to hear both sides from the board mommies
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Re: Cord Blood Banking
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This is the thought of my husband as well, he's a huge "techie" and feels that if they've come this far in the last 10 years what huge strives will they make in the next 10-20 years. He's on the side of better safe than sorry. I know they will prorate plans so you can pay the intial cost over a period of time which is nice but I'm just trying to warrant the monthly storage costs. Thanks for the info I'll look into it!
This was my reason, too. My OB doesn't endorse a company, but does believe that it's a good thing to do. We are using Cord Blood Registry, and got a great discount code from another bumpie.
I had a long discussion with my OB about this because I felt confused about it. My OB is so great about being straight forward and presenting all the sides of issues. He said that the reality is that there really ARE things that can be cured by using stem cells and that cord blood is definitely the easiest way to obtain stem cells at this point in time. I think he said that leukemia is one of the things that we know for sure can be cured. He said the other truth is that there's a bit of an "over sell" by cord blood companies on what can really be done with the stem cells for sure in terms of curing things and the likelihood of them being used. There are many diseases etc that there has been some success with stem cells but they aren't 100%.
He said the big dilemma is the affordability vs. the likelihood of use. Theoretically, every cell of your body should be able to recreate you. And scientists are having some small successes in convincing other cells to become stem cells. Right now we get them from cord blood but it could be that in the not-too-distant future, you'll walk in to the Dr., get the inside of your cheek swabbed and have them turned into stem cells. He used the example of a phone booth. In the 80's, it was amazing that you could step onto any street corner and with just a quarter, you could make a phone call. You knew that as long as you sent your kid out with a quarter, he could always reach you. Nowadays, a phone booth is laughable as a concept. So the big question is, are you investing in the medical "phone booth" of our time? It's so hard to know how soon things will change and whether or not it was worth it to spend all the money to bank those cells for that time. Additionally, the likelihood of your child developing something that can for sure be healed or cured by these stem cells is not as high as the banks would have you think.
On the flip side, if you are the 1 in however many that has something devastating happen to your child that could have been healed or cured by his/her cord blood, you'd wish you had done it. His bottom line was, if you can afford it, it's not a bad idea, but if you can't, you can't. He said his colleague always tells people to take the money they would have spent on banking cord blood and put it in a college fund because your child is a million times more likely to benefit from that than the cord blood.
We have a local bank that comes highly recommended and has the best prices I've been able to find. We're considering it, but it will all come down to the financial end of it which we haven't figured out yet.
Frozen cord blood is less likely to be used than a sibling marrow or stem cell transplant to treat leukemia. Fresh cells are of higher quality - only if a sibling or relative match could not be found would they move on to frozen cells. Even then, most doctors lean away from treating a person with their own stem cells because the defect that lead to the illness is likely present in those cells as well.
I really do think that if it was a worthwhile investment, it would have solid data rather than fear mongering and hard sells. At the moment, the next person that really annoys me is going to get signed up for every cord blood registry I can find, just so their life will be telemarketing hell for the next year.
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Another thing to consider is the possibility of cordblood banking for your baby. If you're interested, consider using discount code MTBVD - good for $250 discount on cord blood banking when you enroll online or by phone 1-888-932-6568. Visit www.cordblood.com to learn more or to enroll. By the way, the coupon doesn't expire so if you need it but maybe not right now just make a note of it, and please share the love with your friends and loved ones. Congratulations on your new arrivals.