Cord Blood Donation?

llggx2

Is anyone donating there baby's cord blood? What are the steps to doing this? I am planning on asking my doctor when I go this week but I just wonderd where to start. Thanks!

erinb31

If you are donating, check if your state has a public cord blood bank, and you should find information.  I found info on NJ's just by googling, and the main thing I had to be sure of about the process is whether the hospital where I am delivering participates in the cord blood donation program.

Ginkeez

I think I will likely do the same thing, but have not actively started searching.  I believe that you can contact a donation organization and they will arrange things with you and the hospital, or you may actually be able to get some information from the hospital when you got to do the tour (or earlier if you call). 

Bcbscorp

Just an FYI I brought this up to my OB at my last appointment and he said while he fully supports us donating there is no funding right now for us to do so. Even though donating is free, if the place taking the donations doesn't have the funding it may not be an option.

amryn

I was interested in cord blood banking at first, but then I read an article about it in one of the new parent magazines my OB gave me. With cord blood donation, it goes to research to find cures. With cord blood banking, you pay a couple thousand to have it preserved and a montly storage fee of like $150. It also said there are only a few rare genetic orders that can be treated with it. So it sounds to me like you have the right idea - donation vs. banking. From what I read, it didn't sound like there was any sort of charge associated with donating. The article mentioned who to contact, but I don't have it with me now. Sorry!

bannedmonkey

We're donating through this organization. Lots of good info on their website.

bannedmonkey

amryn:

I was interested in cord blood banking at first, but then I read an article about it in one of the new parent magazines my OB gave me. With cord blood donation, it goes to research to find cures. With cord blood banking, you pay a couple thousand to have it preserved and a montly storage fee of like $150. It also said there are only a few rare genetic orders that can be treated with it. So it sounds to me like you have the right idea - donation vs. banking. From what I read, it didn't sound like there was any sort of charge associated with donating. The article mentioned who to contact, but I don't have it with me now. Sorry!

That's not entirely accurate. The organization I'm using says this: "The donations will be available through the National Bone Marrow Registry to any of the 30,000 patients in the U.S. each year who are diagnosed with a disease that can be treated or cured with stem cells from umbilical cord blood."