anyone looking into banking cord blood?

xtina78 · May 2014

I'm just starting to research this and was wondering if anyone else was looking into it. It's $$$ and it sounds like with current medical technology there is a very very small chance that we would need it (like if the kids or a family member had to have chemotherapy/radiation and required a stem cell transplant). But what I think about is that these babies are likely to be alive in 90-100 years and who knows what kind of technology will exist then to make use of the cord blood?

Thoughts?

JSM0801 · May 2014

I'm so glad you are bringing this up! I was planning on posting this too, as we're feeling torn if it's worth it or not and need to make a decision. I have been getting a lot of mixed responses when I ask people. On one hand, many say if you have the $$, it's an insurance policy, so why wouldn't you do it? No one plans on needing to use their insurance policy, but it's there if god for bid you need it. On the other hand, I hear many that feel it is a total waste of $ since your chances you would ever have to use it are so tiny. I can't remember the exact percentage, but it's almost nothing. Surprisingly, several physicians I have asked about it feel it's unnecessary. One did say they recommend doing it for premies or if you have blood cancers in the family. I am curious to know how much more successful it is to have your own stem cells if needed vs. using from a public bank (if any). I am anxious to hear what people's thoughts are on this.

sunflowermama42212 · May 2014

From my research it's better to donate than to bank since your baby can't use their own cord blood and building a donor bank makes treatment more accessible for the people that could actually benefit from it.

DH and I decided to delay the cord clamping instead to let baby benefit that way.

It's really a personal decision though. Good luck!

Cutiecruz327 · May 2014

Good question. I haven't looked into this yet, but I am very curious what people think.

ball.and.chain · May 2014

My research has all pointed toward it being a waste of money. To me it's entirely different from insurance -- yes, you hope you don't need your insurance but the truth is that most people do use some form in their lives. Personally I benefit from my health insurance every damn week. I can't think of many people who haven't been in a fender bender and filed an auto insurance claim at least once, and I have family members who have filed claims for hurricane or flood damage to their homes. On the other hand, it seems like almost no one ends up benefiting from private cord banking. As PP mentioned, the likelihood of a child being able to use his own cord blood is miniscule at this point. The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes it and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology doesn't seem to encourage it. The hospital/OB practice I'm going to outright discourages it. I really feel like private banks are just preying on the anxieties of new parents.

It makes a lot more sense to donate to a public bank so that there is a public supply available for those who need it. Unfortunately, not all hospitals (including mine) make this option available.

xtina78 · May 2014

Thanks everyone for your thoughts so far. I agree that with the technology in its current state there is very little chance you would end up using it. But, medical technology is improving all the time and wonder about the chance that over the lifetimes of my kids they will find new uses for them. This article (in a scientific journal but largely readable) talks about some of the potential future applications to treat diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimers etc:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3866530/

indianaalum · May 2014

This was a helpful thread. I was feeling bad that I didn't think we could afford to do it, expecially cuz i know my relative did it for her child. I guess knowing it isn't "that" helpful makes me feel better now

FutureMrsW9 · May 2014

MishaBelle521 said:

From my research it's better to donate than to bank since your baby can't use their own cord blood and building a donor bank makes treatment more accessible for the people that could actually benefit from it. DH and I decided to delay the cord clamping instead to let baby benefit that way. It's really a personal decision though. Good luck!

I've done a little reading about delayed clamping, but I had no idea that it had to be one or the other. Does anyone have more info on this?

2MamazInSeattle · May 2014

I do! This video pretty much tells you all you need:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W3RywNup2CM

It's well-known childbirth educator Penny Simkin explaining it with props! The deal is you put your baby's cord blood back into your baby (delaying clamping even 2 minutes makes a difference) and then basically, there isn't really much cord blood to bank (which is why it's one or the other). We are definitely planning delayed clamping.

RosyGlow · May 2014

We are planning on delaying cord clamping. Baby NEEDS all that cord blood during the first minutes of life...i have seen several live births and that cord blood is an insurance policy in case baby's first cries arent strong enough go get the lungs going. the cord blood provides oxygen rich blood to your baby diring those critical first minutes. From my research, I think that cord blood banking companies are unethical and preying on families who are anxious.

marnief · May 2014

Fascinating - thanks for that info, @2MamazinSeattle and @RosyGlow! I had no idea that it was either/or.

Allison7 · May 2014

I have been thinking about this recently. I do think that during our children's lives they will advance medicine greatly and increase the usability of cord blood....but...I think it is important to have a strong public bank available. I certainly don't have my own cord blood available, so if I needed something like that I would need to turn to a public source. I feel that my baby's cord blood has much greater odds of actually being useful if it goes to the public bank. Additionally, the public bank is not just used for treatments, it is also used for research - so even if the blood is not used on a person it could be used to develop new treatments for so many diseases and illnesses.

Deardra77 · May 2014

I looked into banking, my husband and I have genetic backgrounds that are quite diverse from each other so thought it would be very awesome to donate to a public bank as kids with a similar genetic background would have a tough time finding a match. But as I am European they would not accept (just like blood donating). Was bummed but felt good that I had at least tried to do the right thing

darby17 · May 2014

Hey Everyone,

This is an interesting question. There was an article about cord blood banking in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago. It mentioned that there is not a lot of regulation and oversight with the companies that actually store the cord blood. They had a few examples of families who went to use the blood they had banked and it was contaminated or even missing. After reading the article, it made me thing that donating to a public bank is the way to go.That way it can be used for research or to help some one else.

Here is the article if you are interesetd https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303887804579501500366071342

Also - I had never heard about the delayed clamping - I am certainly going to check into that.

xtina78 · May 2014

Thanks @darby17 for the WSJ article. That was helpful (and concerning!). We're leaning away from cord blood for right now, but I'm going to talk with OB and also try to talk with one of my friends who does stem cell research. Something one of my friends brought up with me was that if technology advances to the point where we can grow whole new organs/tissues from stem cells, technology may also advance so that stem cells can be isolated (or otherwise generated) from other tissues in the adult body ie skin, so cord blood wouldn't be needed any more. It's all a guess though!

Want a personalized experience?

anyone looking into banking cord blood?

Re: anyone looking into banking cord blood?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards