Viacord Worth It?

satuttle1014

I'm not really sure which board this would go under. I had to get maternity work pants and the lady checking me out slipped a Viacord Cord Blood Banking pamphlet in my bag. I just started looking at it for price. I have heard of blood banking before and wondered if anybody has used it before, been looking into it, used another cord banking company etc? The price right now looks pricey but in the long run it may not be. Didn't know if anybody had opinions on Cord Blood Banking if they are going to do it or not. 

kristib1027

We're not doing it and haven't considered for either of our children. Do you plan on doing delayed cord clamping? Just to make you aware you can't bank cord blood if you do choose to do delayed cord clamping and DCC has many benefits to it as well that you should look into and compare.

satuttle1014

Thanks, I will look into it. 

allrightmeow

My doctor encourgaed us to do public banking or delayed clamping.  Those companies prey on your fears.  

kristib1027

Agreed, not saying that in some situations people are very lucky to have banked their babies cord blood and it has been life saving, however I find the benefits of delayed clamping to be so much more beneficial.

satuttle1014

Thanks for the advice

SouthernCharmedLife

The chances of being able to actually use it are very small. Unless you have a child who could already benefit from cord blood, it doesn't seem worth it. Since cord blood cannot be used to treat the child it was banked from if that child becomes ill. I think I've also read somewhere that there is a weight limit on the person who can be treated...like 85 lbs (I can't recall the source).

smileybabyboy

You are better off using the public bank.  

4N6s

Not planning on it.

ashton2190

SouthernCharmedLife said:

The chances of being able to actually use it are very small. Unless you have a child who could already benefit from cord blood, it doesn't seem worth it. Since cord blood cannot be used to treat the child it was banked from if that child becomes ill. I think I've also read somewhere that there is a weight limit on the person who can be treated...like 85 lbs (I can't recall the source).

Everything I've read says that you can use the cord blood for the child it was banked from, just not for all diseases/conditions

appleorangebanana

SouthernCharmedLife said:

The chances of being able to actually use it are very small. Unless you have a child who could already benefit from cord blood, it doesn't seem worth it. Since cord blood cannot be used to treat the child it was banked from if that child becomes ill. I think I've also read somewhere that there is a weight limit on the person who can be treated...like 85 lbs (I can't recall the source).

This is nearly all incorrect. You can definitely use it on the child it was taken from. That was the point. Whether or not you, a sibling or the father can use it, it depends. There is definitely not a 85 lb weight limit. Not sure where you got all your info from.

amberrmariee20

appleorangebanana said:

SouthernCharmedLife said:

The chances of being able to actually use it are very small. Unless you have a child who could already benefit from cord blood, it doesn't seem worth it. Since cord blood cannot be used to treat the child it was banked from if that child becomes ill. I think I've also read somewhere that there is a weight limit on the person who can be treated...like 85 lbs (I can't recall the source).

This is nearly all incorrect. You can definitely use it on the child it was taken from. That was the point. Whether or not you, a sibling or the father can use it, it depends. There is definitely not a 85 lb weight limit. Not sure where you got all your info from.

BLOCK QUOTE FAIL~~~~~~

"If a child develops certain genetic diseases, his or her own frozen cord blood isn't going to help," says Arthur Caplan, PhD, a bioethicist and chairman of the department of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "The cord blood will have the same genetic flaws that caused the disease in the first place, so it won't be a good treatment."

Cord blood is usually only used in treating diseases in children. Since only 3 to 5 ounces are taken from the cord, and since cord blood has a limited number of stem cells, there just isn't enough to treat most adults.


Source : https://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/banking-your-babys-cord-blood

SouthernCharmedLife

appleorangebanana said:

SouthernCharmedLife said:

The chances of being able to actually use it are very small. Unless you have a child who could already benefit from cord blood, it doesn't seem worth it. Since cord blood cannot be used to treat the child it was banked from if that child becomes ill. I think I've also read somewhere that there is a weight limit on the person who can be treated...like 85 lbs (I can't recall the source).

This is nearly all incorrect. You can definitely use it on the child it was taken from. That was the point. Whether or not you, a sibling or the father can use it, it depends. There is definitely not a 85 lb weight limit. Not sure where you got all your info from.

It sounds like you're getting yours directly from advertising. PP posted an article similar to those I've read when researching in the past and the information we were given by our pediatrician.

Knottie75347854

I would consider a little more research. I recently was in training for blood transfusion and with current developments, there is a high chance you wouldn't need to use it by the time your child needed it, AND there will be so many options by that time. Companies are out there taking money for this. Did you know that you could actually pull stem cells at anytime for yourself if you needed it for something. These companies take the cord blood and "store it," aka freeze it basically which changes the cell function usually and can make it unusable. Therefore you spent money on nothing. Personal opinion from learning more about it but my SO and I are not planning on storing it and blood is his profession. Also not all doctors/pediatricians know THAT much about it. Some do but not in great detail. They are not required to know info on this and usually know about it if they were self motivated enough to do the research.

mullenixj

My doctor's office is having a lunch and learn type thing for via cord that I am going to check out to get more info. They are also having a lactation specialist there too, so that's the main reason I am going to go. The hospital where I am delivering has donation options which I m going to look into. I'd rather have it used for research than bank it in case we need it for some off chance

kitteh81

Seconding the advice to skip cord blood banking and instead opt for delayed cord clamping. That blood belongs in the baby!

hansonec

I know one family who benefited from this but that's it. They had a daughter who kept relapsing with cancer and so they banked their 3rd child's cord blood. When the daughter relapsed again the cord blood luckily matched and the sick sister was able to use the banked blood for a transplant. This is obviously a very rare case but just thought I'd add since I've seen it used.