Cord Blood Banking for 2nd baby?

babyalex124 · February 2013

We did cord blood banking for our first born. Should we do it for our 2nd child? There's a chance that our children aren't matches, right? I feel stupid for asking, but better to know now!

pdilly2b · February 2013

Honestly, I think the whole thing is a scam. They may not be matches and there's no guarantee that the cord blood for either would be any good (from a quality perspective) in the very remote chance that it's needed, especially since it's only useful in such a small number of very limited diseases. Even if they are matches, it's likely that it may not be usable since both would have the likelihood of having the same genetic defect since siblings share so much DNA. There are also public banks that could have matches should it be necessary, and those people would have different genetic backgrounds relative to whatever disease you are aiming to cure.

ldpm · February 2013

I asked about it with my first. The theory is that saving the stem cells can help in some unknown future event and the expense was a bit. I asked if the blood could be banked only if, for some reason, the cord actually had to be cut early, like during an emergency. They said no, I would have to plan to have the cord cut early or it could not be done. I chose instead to let my daughter have all those stem cells by using delayed cord.clamping. The cord was not cut until after it stopped pulsing. I will also do delayed clamping with this one. There is no fee and baby is guaranteed the benefits of those stem cells right away. There is a lot of research into the benefits of delayed clamping, but cord blood banking is the response to reap benefits from the unnecessary, most of the time, obstetric intervention if clamping immediately.

mexicolombiana · February 2013

pdilly2b:
Honestly, I think the whole thing is a scam. They may not be matches and there's no guarantee that the cord blood for either would be any good (from a quality perspective) in the very remote chance that it's needed, especially since it's only useful in such a small number of very limited diseases. Even if they are matches, it's likely that it may not be usable since both would have the likelihood of having the same genetic defect since siblings share so much DNA. There are also public banks that could have matches should it be necessary, and those people would have different genetic backgrounds relative to whatever disease you are aiming to cure.

YES to all of this. I researched this a lot w/my first baby and decided to donate to a public bank, only to find the hospital didn't have the donation kit ready when I went into labor (despite me filling out all paperwork ahead of time), so there went that idea. Also, did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations don't recommend private cord banking for most people?

Here's a great link that talks about the comparison between public and private donation:

https://www.nationalcordbloodprogram.org/donation/public_vs_private_donation.html

I can't make it clicky at work because our browser SUCKS.

And finally some research shows that babies actually benefit from delayed cord clamping so that would mean you wouldn't donate at all.

babyalex124 · February 2013

Eeeek! I had no idea! Well call me "scammed". So by delaying the cord clamping all the benefits are there without the cost of storing a thing!? Well I feel stupid.

So how long does the clamping need to be delayed? I know someone posted "until it stops pulsing", but roughly how long is that? A few minutes?

tmrchi · February 2013

mexicolombiana:
pdilly2b:
Honestly, I think the whole thing is a scam. They may not be matches and there's no guarantee that the cord blood for either would be any good (from a quality perspective) in the very remote chance that it's needed, especially since it's only useful in such a small number of very limited diseases. Even if they are matches, it's likely that it may not be usable since both would have the likelihood of having the same genetic defect since siblings share so much DNA. There are also public banks that could have matches should it be necessary, and those people would have different genetic backgrounds relative to whatever disease you are aiming to cure.
YES to all of this. I researched this a lot w/my first baby and decided to donate to a public bank, only to find the hospital didn't have the donation kit ready when I went into labor (despite me filling out all paperwork ahead of time), so there went that idea. Also, did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations don't recommend private cord banking for most people?
Here's a great link that talks about the comparison between public and private donation:
https://www.nationalcordbloodprogram.org/donation/public_vs_private_donation.html
I can't make it clicky at work because our browser SUCKS.
And finally some research shows that babies actually benefit from delayed cord clamping so that would mean you wouldn't donate at all.

I agree with all this. Also, if you child needed cord blood to help treat a rare condition, their own cord blood probably wouldn't help them because it would be affected by the same condition. That is if the cord blood you banked is still viable, and the company you used is still in business by then.

BriDaily · February 2013

Ditto to previous posters!

The best thing you can actually do for your child is a partial lotus birth. I only did delayed cord clamping with my first, but after researching the benefits of a partial lotus birth (not cutting the umbilical cord from the placenta until the cord has dried up - approximately 3 hours), I am sold on it for #2! The healing time for the belly button is a world of difference - 3 days for lotus birth, 5-6 days for delayed cord clamping, and 7+ days for immediate cutting. Plus the personality difference is really intriguing - lotus babies are much less fussy and more alert. A lotus baby that is a week old acts similar to a "normal" month old and is very aware of surroundings and such things.

As for the cord you currently have banked - see if there is any way you could donate it. You may be able to help someone out! And of course, I'm sure you can find other ways to spend the money you have been paying on a regular basis for that banking Wink

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