Cord blood?

meganjane86 · March 2011

Has anyone put any thought into this? Anyone planning to save it or donate? We don't have any childhood medical issues in our family history, so we're not at high risk- but it's still something to consider.

Still though, the price isn't something we had considered before, so it's not really in our budget.

Just curious as to what everyone else is doing!

ashleytyler7 · March 2011

I thought long and hard about it. We also just don't have it in our budget. We decided against it.

vernab · March 2011

I'm sort of hopping b/t boards right now. Embarrassed

I would have liked to save DS's but couldn't rationalize the cost so we donated it. Plan on donating again for this LO.

Tiff_Andy · March 2011

It wasn't in our budget to save it with DD, I was planning to donate it. However, I completely forgot to tell my doctor that I wanted to donate it until it was too late. Apparently, I was about 5 minutes too late (I remembered right after DD was born).

This time I will be sure to let my dr. know, it feels like such a waste to not donate it.

lmjt · March 2011

I donated last time, and will again. The placenta too (had a c/s).

I believe in karma.

Lindsaywillo · March 2011

Just out of curiosity....how much are we talking? I've never really considered/looked into it.

T&HLove · March 2011

We wouldn't be able to afford keeping it, even if we wanted to. If it's an option, I'll gladly donate it.

meganjane86 · March 2011

Lindsaywillo:
Just out of curiosity....how much are we talking? I've never really considered/looked into it.

The place I was looking at was about $2,000 for everything for the first year (collecting it, transporting it, storing it) and then about $100 storage fee a year after that

Tikat · March 2011

With the medical advance made in the time just since DD was born I'm glad I banked her cordblood. We used Cryo-Cell for they have the most comprehensive coverage and you only pay if the amount of cordblood retrieved is usable/ sufficient for future treatments.

I paid $1495 with Cryo-Cell then and the annual storage fee is $99.

I was able to sign up this time around for $999...and I think we'll just finance that at $50/ month for 2 years...to me it seems a small price to pay to save your childs life should s/he ever need it. You can also go onto their site and compare providers- this is obviously somewhat skewed but gives you a good idea of what is out there. https://www.cryo-cell.com/services/competitive_matrix.asp

They are currently running a special - you would just sign up now...they'll send you the box which you take to the hospital and you pay them if the cord blood collected was viable.

lmjt · March 2011

Please extend your research beyond what the private companies tell you on their websites. It's not 100% true.

There is an extremely large chance that your child's cord blood will not be a viable match for your other children or family members in the event that it's needed. Additionally, if your child needs the cells from his or her own cord blood, there is a strong chance that the disease you are trying to treat is contained in those cells, and therefore useless.

The blood bank will assist you in finding a match in the unfortunate event that you need it when you donate your cord blood. The private storage companies are for profit. Please keep this in mind when making your decision.

schmoodle · March 2011

We donated our son's because I didn't think that we would have another child and my understanding was that it can't be used on the same individual from whom it was harvested - beyond that didn't need to do any research. We're now surprisingly pregnant with #2 and considering into it, but first my husband is doing some research and also talking to his father (they both have PhDs in various biology/immunology fields) to see if it is really worth it. We do have childhood leukemia in our family history (DH's brother had it) but I don't know if that is a close enough relationship to warrant a need. So as I said, we're still on the fence but looking into it seriously.

Ceridwen21 · March 2011

lisajay09:
lmjt:

Please extend your research beyond what the private companies tell you on their websites. It's not 100% true.

There is an extremely large chance that your child's cord blood will not be a viable match for your other children or family members in the event that it's needed. Additionally, if your child needs the cells from his or her own cord blood, there is a strong chance that the disease you are trying to treat is contained in those cells, and therefore useless.

The blood bank will assist you in finding a match in the unfortunate event that you need it when you donate your cord blood. The private storage companies are for profit. Please keep this in mind when making your decision.

I respectfully understand your points, but what about the tiny chance that it can be used? Or what if science moves forward and can use it to cure diseases in the future that it can't now? I just think a lot of people weight the cost and that's it. I think some research into the advancements in genetics should go along with extensive research on cord banking.

What about the gigantic chance that a stranger could use it if you donate it? I agree with a PP about karma.

We'll be donating ours to the public bank.

starskristen79 · March 2011

Please look into donating!!! I figure if everyone would just donate, there should be plenty of matches available for the people who actually need it, including my family, G-d forbid. I am donating and hope that more and more people will donate in the future.

danztam · March 2011

Unless you have strong family history of cancer, there is no use for cord blood and even then, if the baby had cancer, the Doc would not give the baby his/her own cord blood. May be useful for a future sibling if that sib was diagnosed and if it matched, you may be able to use that cord blood from the first kid. Its absolutely a waste to save but a great gift to donate!!! BTW, Im a pediatric bone marrow transplant/oncology RN. Good luck in your decision.

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