Talk to me about cord blood banking

strickland8052 · May 2016

So... I've looked into it and gotten a basic idea of what it costs to bank and store and what it can treat. However, I'd love to get a better idea of how practical it is to get it out and use it, should a need for it arise. Do most doctors have the ability to use it as a treatment? Would insurance cover the use of cord blood stem cells as a treatment? Would you need to live near an ongoing clinical trial in order to use it? Would it cost an additional arm and leg to use it?

My mother in law currently has breast cancer in liver. I'm wondering if we could use it for her? Unfortunately, she is an irrational person who will probably say no without even asking her doctor or hearing us out...

Anyone got any info on how to approach that? I guess we would need to start with her doctor?

If not for her, I'm interested in it for all family members. DH has a family history of cancer, and I have a family history of autoimmune diseases. If not that, I definitely want to donate it.

What are you guys doing?

westcoastfoodie · May 2016

I have no advice, knowledge or words of wisdom, but I am following this thread. We've got a lot of different health issues in our family so I am intrigued.

And I'm so sorry that you're going through that with your mom, @strickland8052. Both my mom and grandma were/are breast cancer survivors. I know how shitty and scary it can be.

agogo1 · May 2016

We didn't with our first and we won't with this one. It's an interesting area but has very few applications at this time. Your MIL, for example, would unfortunately not benefit from your baby's cord blood in any way, really. There's not enough blood collected to be therapeutic for most adult applications. Most doctors do not have the ability to use it because so, so few of them have used it to treat a patient at this point. Something like fewer than 20 children have ever had their own cord blood used as part of a treatment, according to one article I read. If there's a history of certain diseases in your family--sickle cell anemia, blood disorders, leukemia--then you're more likely to be able to use it but even then, it's not super duper likely. And it's certainly not a cure-all for things like cancer and autoimmune diseases.

I think donating it makes sense if it's something that you care about. There's a whole lot more research that needs to be done. I really view private banking as a money making scheme with very little practical use or benefit for the vast, vast, vast majority of people. Not to mention the fact that cord blood is only usable for about 10 years.

mrskratt · May 2016

I don't know too much about it, but I remember doing a little bit of research before DD. I opted out because I weighed it out and decided that delayed cord clamping was a better choice for us.
From what I do remember tho is that it is pretty
expensive bank it. The chances of your baby needing its own cord blood the road are extremely slim.
I would look into the cancers that run in your family and see if any can be treated with cord blood. I would also talk to some doctors in those fields. They might have some expierence and insight.
But I did read that donating is a great choice because there's a great chance that they would find someone it would benefit.

Schell2013 · May 2016

If I could afford it I totally would do it. However where I live it's so far from a big city that it would cost us way more than we can afford. I've defiantly thought about donating cause it can get you on a special list if your child needs it one day (that's the story I've heard anyways) but I also believe in delayed cord clamping at birth so I'm kinda torn.
I knew nothing about this with my first two at all, just recently heard about it.

NoraAurora · May 2016

+1 for delayed cord clamping (which you can't do if you want to bank). Delayed clamping is the standard at my OB's practice. There's solid evidence for delayed clamping but very few applications for banking, and it's ridiculously expensive.

UponAStar16 · May 2016

I personally don't plan on banking. When I asked about it, my doctor said it is standard for them to do delayed cord clamping and they think cord blood banking is so expensive and not useful that the money would be much better spent putting in the bank for the kid's college fund. I'm not clear on what it could actually be used for anyway but it doesn't sound like much, despite what the companies try to say

booksandicecream · May 2016

Banking cord blood for your own use is expensive and impractical because the chances you will ever need it are slim.
HOWEVER stem cells are SO SO SO important for research and have more uses every day so I definitely recommend donating!!
Also, I have never heard that you can't do delayed cord clamping and donate. I already talked to my doctor about it and will be doing both.

CaptainPhasma · May 2016

Huh. The nurse at my OB said they can still access a little cord blood to donate even though we plan to do delayed cord clamping, I guess I'll have to follow up with the actual OB on that.

freckledlemonade · May 2016

We're also doing delayed cord clamping, so cord blood banking is out for us. I'm not real clear on all the benefits of cord blood banking though, so I'm not much help there. I have heard that it's expensive to bank it for yourself, but I think it can be free if you donate it, at least with certain companies and participating hospitals.

blessyourheartmama · May 2016

We banked our son's. We wanted to donate, but we didn't qualify as my husband is a cancer survivor. It was expensive, but given my husband's history, it was no question for us.

I think they said the chances of us getting our own back in the event we needed it if donated, was high, but I'm not sure if that's the norm for all donation banks.

We plan to bank our twins as well.

I encourage you to call your local donation center. That helped us decide for sure.

westcoastfoodie · May 2016

CaptainPhasma said:

Huh. The nurse at my OB said they can still access a little cord blood to donate even though we plan to do delayed cord clamping, I guess I'll have to follow up with the actual OB on that.

I've read this too, that you can still do both. If it is one or the other though, we're going with delayed chord clamping.

NoraAurora · May 2016

You can try to do both, but there is a minimum requirement for banking, and if you're doing true delayed clamping (ie: once the cord stops pulsating) there's not enough left to bank. Your option then would be to donate cord tissue.

This is a biased blog post for delayed clamping from a midwife, but it contains good facts as well as some visual representation to see what you're actually working with (blood wise) after you've done delayed clamping.

It's obviously a very personal decision, and should require some research as with anything else.

NoraAurora · May 2016

JessK1014 said:

We banked our son's. We wanted to donate, but we didn't qualify as my husband is a cancer survivor. It was expensive, but given my husband's history, it was no question for us.
I think they said the chances of us getting our own back in the event we needed it if donated, was high, but I'm not sure if that's the norm for all donation banks.
We plan to bank our twins as well.
I encourage you to call your local donation center. That helped us decide for sure.

I feel as if I'm trying to sell people on NOT donating, and I'm not sure why since I really believe you have to do what works best for you (but please do your research). This is a perfect example of doing what you feel is the right thing for your family.

However I bolded the above because I would remind people that donation centers like viacord (etc) are a business, and as such they are in it to make money. So if you contact them they are going to try to sell you on it.

blessyourheartmama · May 2016

@NoraAurora The donation center I mentioned is a non profit. We called them and wanted to donate but couldn't because of my husband's history of cancer. We then went with a for profit cord banking business because it worked best for our unique situation.

I agree, please do your research on whatever method you choose.

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Talk to me about cord blood banking

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