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2nd Trimester
Cord Blood Banking
I need to talk to my doc and do some research. What do you guys know about it? Seems that they just bank the cord blood after birth (so no pain to baby, etc). Do they do any testing to see if it's a match beforehand? Cost?
Any info would be appreciated. We find out on Thursday if my dad has cancer - wow - that was hard to write. They are testing for MDS (a form of leukemia) or lymphoma. Either way, a friend told me about cord blood banking. Any insights you guys could give would be appreciated.
TIA!!!
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Re: Cord Blood Banking
There's no testing needed because it's your baby's cord blood, so if you bank it then you know it will be a match. If you donate it, then there is testing done on the cord blood itself so they will be able to match it up later.
There are certain benefits to the baby to let the cord blood pulse completely, which is why some people are against donating it or paying to bank it - they prefer to let their baby get all of the benefits from the cord blood at birth.
I personally will be banking the cord blood for both of my babies because I get the initial fee waived through my work. The initial fee for ViaCord is $2500, and then I believe the yearly storage fee is $125. If I did not get the initial $2500 waived then we would not be doing this as it would be too cost prohibitive. However, I have heard that ViaCord is one of the more expensive services, so if this is something that you're interested in then I would definitely research all of the different services.
The way I view cord blood banking is like car insurance - you pay in case something happens, and, like insurance, not everything is covered, meaning that it wouldn't help with all illnesses/diseases. Some people view it as a scam to get more money out of parents, but I don't see it that way. We hope that we'll never have a need to use the cord blood, but if we do I like that it will be there. With a history of cancer in your family it definitely wouldn't hurt to research it. You can call each company and ask questions, and talk to your OB and see what they think. Just an FYI, my OB charges I think $100 per baby to collect the cord blood, so you might have a fee from your OB as well.
This is a very personal decision, so I would try to get information on letting the cord blood pulse as well as on cord blood banking and weigh the pros and cons.
ETA: Like PP said, I believe there is some testing done on the cord blood to make sure everything is okay, but nothing that is done immediately when the baby is born or anything done directly to the baby (so nothing you would have to worry about).
From my hospital's weekly e-mail... (fyi: we are doing public donation, as if there is something wrong w/baby's cells requiring a transplant, their own will be useless)
Planning ahead: cord-blood banking
In recent years, a new option has become available for parents who wish to prepare for every possibility. In the past, after a baby was delivered, the placenta and umbilical cord were discarded. Then it was found that these organs are a source of the same kinds of blood-forming stem cells as is bone marrow. These cells can be collected, stored, and, if needed, used to treat a range of serious illnesses.
Cord-blood stem cells may be useful when the recipient was the source. For some medical conditions, transplanting the cord-blood stem cells of a full sibling can be beneficial. While no one wants to think that a child may develop any of the disorders that can be treated with the help of stem cells, knowing you have these cells if ever they are needed can be reassuring.
Parents who decide to have their newborn?s cord blood collected and stored must arrange to do so in advance of delivery. It is collected soon after birth in both vaginal and cesarean deliveries with a kit ordered ahead of time from a cord-blood bank. The more blood collected, the more stem cells collected. If using the stem cells ever becomes necessary, having more to implant increases the chances of successful transplant.
Once collected and delivered to the cord-blood bank, the stem cells are separated from the rest of the blood and frozen. If needed, they can be thawed and used by the person who donated them, or they can be donated to another person in need. It is believed that the cells can be stored safely and stay effective for decades.
Some parents consider banking their newborn's cord blood because they have a family medical history of diseases that can be treated with stem cell transplants, including leukemia or lymphoma, anemia, sickle cell anemia, or an immune deficiency. The chance that a child without risk factors will ever need his own banked cord blood is low.
While reassurance is nice to have, cord-blood banking is expensive and can require a yearly maintenance fee for as long as the blood is stored (and that could be for many years). The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend cord-blood banking and states, ?Cord-blood donation should be discouraged when cord blood stored in a bank is to be directed for later personal or family use, because most conditions that might be helped by cord blood stem cells already exist in the infant?s cord blood, (i.e., premalignant changes in stem cells).? However, the AAP does encourage cord-blood banking when the cord blood will be banked and held for public use.
If your family history suggests that cord-blood banking may be of value, it is good to know the option exists now, in time to make an informed decision. For more information on cord blood banking, private or public, see the American Academy of Pediatrics statement and this info from the National Marrow Donor Program.
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I posted a response about this once last year, here it is, I haven't re-read it but I think it all still applies to my personal decision.
Hi ladies I thought about this long and hard and spoke to several different people and did some research. We decided to donate instead of bank based on our family history and several other factors.
We decided to donate the blood to a public bank the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) for the following reasons:
From what I have read and according to the National Marrow Donor Program, https://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/Options_for_Umbilical_Cord_Blo/index.html?src=cord_options), much of the medical community including the American Academy of Pediatrics, https://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jan07cordbloodfaq.htm, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, https://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-01-08-2.cfm, the American Medical Association (AMA), www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion2165.shtml , and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT), https://www.asbmt.org/guide_for_parents, actually recommend donating your baby's cord blood vs. private banking since the likelihood that your baby or your family will ever need the cord blood is so low. Instead donating the cord blood has the potential to save other people's lives and they encourage building up public registries. In fact most of these organizations actually discourage private banking.
In addition according to most of what I read the chance of using one's own cord blood is very low (4/100th of a percent) and in fact your own cord blood may actually carry the same cells that caused a particular disease, rendering it useless in curing that particular disease.
Not to mention, unless someone in your immediate family has a disease that can be treated by a transplant, it is unlikely the privately banked cord blood will be useful.
Of course there are instances where it is recommended that you privately bank the cord blood but it seems to be an unusual circumstance.
So I just wanted to share some of the links and info above in case some people out there are looking for more to read about.
Oh and of course the final point is the cost, donation=free while private banking is over $2,000 and annual storage fees of about $125 per year.
*update to my post last year, it turns out when I went into labor the hospital didn't even HAVE the donation kit I had ordered and was promised to be available at the hospital! So... I didn't even get to donate.
http://balletandbabies.blogspot.com
We chose not to bank it but we would have donated if it were an option in our area. It might be worth it in some cases based on family history but private banking is a waste of money for most people. Chances are pretty slim that your child's own cord blood could be used to help them. It's also not really known how long it will remain effective while in storage. Here are a few WebMd articles with more info: #1, #2, #3.
This ABC news article also has a good line: Both Viacord and Cord Blood Registry state that for most of the conditions listed in their marketing materials they are referring to possible future uses for cord blood and not implying these diseases are currently being treated with cord blood stem cells or that you can use your own cord blood stem cells for all of the conditions listed.med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM
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There are two options. You can donate the cord blood or you can privately store the cord blood. If you donate, the receiving company pays for the storage/freezing. They then determine whether there's a sufficient number of available cells for therapeutic purposes. If there isn't, they deliver the blood to various research institutions. If there is, they type the cells and put them in a bank. Once in the bank, the cells are used based on need/match. So, if your father were a better match than anyone else and had a need for them, that's what he would receive.
If you privately store, they various companies charge roughly $3,000 for the initial freezing and then an annual fee thereafter (usually roughly $125 per month.) There's no guarantee that the collected blood would contain enough cells for any therapeutic purpose. There's also no guarantee that the cells would match any member of your family (other than the baby itself.) You should also be aware that many problems that would result in stem cell therapy treatment stem from issues already present in the cord blood at birth. Thus, the benefits of cord blood collection frequently are only available to the child's siblings or parents. Thus, if you plan on only having one child, it may not be as valuable to your family.
At this time, the American Association of Pediatrics does not recommend private cord blood banking.
I've responded to this before so I'm re-pasting my experience.
The hospital we deliver at collects cord blood for public banking, we did that with DS and will do it with this one (I remember the lady from the bank being such an intrusive PIA though).
However we were going to do Via Cord with DS - I filled out the paperwork and actually sent our deposit in. I pretty much just looked at the brochure and wanted to do it, jumped the gun without doing much research. Then I did my research and some of the reasons I decided not to do private banking:
1. The chance you'll actually need it and use it is very small, but the chance of being able to use even if you need it is even smaller based on current research and recs by the ACOG and AMA who neither recommend or advise against it. The reasons included:
A - if the reason you need it is a genetic disorder, the baby's cord blood (we were thinking about his future needs, not the possibility it could help us or family members, but that's a pro if you're thinking about it) cannot be used to treat the disorder as it's present in the cord blood.
B - For certain autoimmune disorders, same thing - a decent chance it cannot be used as the disorder is present on the molecular/genetic level.
C - Certain leukemias - same thing, possible genetic mutations present in the baby's cord blood that caused the condition so it can't be used for the individual.
D - obviously there are huge possibilities for treatments, but the science hasn't advanced all that far in terms of stem cells (future accidents involving spinal cord issues as an example) and their use. As advances occur, public banks will expand and it is more likely to find matches or treatments that will benefit a larger part of the population.
E - In 2011 when I had my son, there had only been 150 autologous stem cell transplants from cord blood performed, compared to 14,000 unrelated donor transplants (this is worldwide). So based on those numbers, we thought if we could donate and it is more likely to help somebody else, and unlikely that we'll need it or even be able to use it if we do, why pay the money when we could donate and help somebody else.
I lost my deposit, I think it was $150 or $200 but it was worth it. We then took the money we would have spent and put it right into DSs college fund when he was born. It's a tough call, because it's sort of like insurance imo - you have it just in case, but hope you'll never need it and most likely you won't. After reading this I thought the private banks are real money makers for the companies (with good reason), but the cons didn't outweigh the cost when I looked at the fact that the "what if" scenarios didn't produce a good chance we'd ever be able to use our own cord blood even if we needed it for him.