Cord Blood Banking

Wow. I feel bad for you- reading all the responses I'm guessing you have more questions and concerns than before you posted!!

Just to lend a little perspective, I would say if you can afford it, there's really no down side (short of unlikely problems with the company itself) and only possible up sides.

Having said that, we were planning on doing it, but due to serious complications with delivery were unable to. I don't lose sleep over this.

So basically my vote is- if you can swing it go for it. But if you choose not to, it's probably not worth stressing over.

Good luck!

Dear T.,

I have to say that I am quite astounded by some of the comments the people have posted that are so anti-cord blood banking. A child's own cord blood is one of the only sources of controversial-free stem cells available, and is definitely the only exact match a human will ever have access to. When you choose to have your child's cord blood preserved, you are guaranteeing them access to a resource that has real life-saving potential from diseases such as sickle-cell anemia and many forms of leukemia, etc. Beyond just the diseases we know of that stem cells have already cured, this part of the science research industry is HUGE, and there will continue to be many different advances made by the time your child reaches adulthood. Currently they are making progress on heart disease, MS, diabetes, and many others.

The importance of cord blood banking was emphasized to me when my nephew Romney was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at the age of four. When his mother was pregnant at the time, their oncologist (at one of the most respected children's hospitals in the country) strongly encouraged her to save that baby's cord blood should Romney ever need a bone marrow transplant--(with 100% and even 1/2 siblings, there is a relatively high rate of matching with stem cells from cord blood). She has saved each of her babies' cord blood since (Romney has since done very well but could also one day come out of remission).

I personally did preserve cord blood with my last baby, and wish I had understood its importance with my previous birth. I feel so strongly about it, I would even pay for it should my adopted son's birth mother ever have another baby--that would provide a potential match for my son. It is important to understand that currently there is no other way to 100% matching stem cells other than preserving a child's cord blood. I believe this is so significant, the medical community really should brief expectant mothers on what that means and its availability should they have the financial resources.

I used Viacord specifically because their technology is the only available that can actually replicate the stem cells saved. What tht means is, should you bank with a different company, it's likely that should you need the stem cells, you could only use them once. With Viacord, you could repeatedly use the stem cells as they can be reproduced. Does that make sense?

Anyway, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I think you are very wise to be doing this for your child.

A. O.

I was considering cord blood banking when I was pregnant with my son. I researched it a bit and decided against it (which is surprising because I was pretty sure I wanted to do it). I'm not going to tell you whether you should or shouldn't do something like this. It is your choice, but get all of the information you can before making the choice. There can be negatives too (and not just the cost). I found pamphlets on banking as well as reasons not to, but I am sure you can find all of the same info by searching on the internet. Good Luck!

Here is a little food for thought from Gloria Lemay:

About Cord Blood Collection

Never underestimate how much money can be bilked out of North American parents in the name of wanting the best for their children. I bet, in a few years, we will have a big scandal because:

-People paid money for cord blood storage and now the storage place has gone out of business and didn't notify anyone.
-Someone got the vials mixed up and now no one knows whose blood goes with whom.
-Some child gets HIV or hepatitis from what was supposed to cure her of cancer—oops, the vials got mixed up.
-There is a power failure and no one realizes all the blood thawed and now they don't know what to do.

Didn't we go through all this with sperm banks that anyone could open up with no control whatsoever? I think that as teachers and wise women, we must share this experience with the public. I have never been asked about this by clients, but I would tell them to invest their $1,500 (that's what it costs in Canada) in a midwife and/or doula, a new home freezer where they can freeze their whole placenta if they want, or their child's education fund.

I would then tell them the things I know "might" help reduce their child's chances of getting cancer:

-Compost, recycle and clean up the environment.
-Eat organic.
-Breastfeed.
-Don't take drugs in birth or Vitamin K after.
-Don't have ultrasounds (including dopplers) or X-rays.
-Don't sit watching TV all day.
-Don't vaccinate.

The cord blood-banking phenomenon is another drive-through/fast food solution to the cancer scare by a continent full of people who don't want to do the hard work of really keeping our earth and children healthy. Midwives could cause an interruption in this escapism mentality by speaking up about these types of scams.

Gloria Lemay is a private birth attendant in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is a contributing expert at www.consciouswoman.org

Read more from Gloria on "Pushing for First-Time Moms" on Midwifery Today's Web site.

C. M., CBE, CLD, MWA
The Westside Birth Connection
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www.westsidebirthconnection.com

Cord blood banking is not something you should be talked into... it is a luxury, and is like a very expensive insurance policy that you will probably never use... much less sensible than car insurance and homeowner's insurance and medical insurance. If you have a history of cancers in the family, then you probably want to be sure to do it. Outside of probable family illness, you have to consider it an expenditure of ~$1500 plus or minus a few hundred plus yearly storage fees for something you will probably never use (maybe 1 in 1000 or more). There are scientific advancements in stem cell research which will probably make cord blood banking obsolete and uneccessary before long. Most OBGYN's will tell you that it is expensive and very unlikely you will use it. If you have a bunch of money, I have nothing against it, but I feel that emotions drive this type of decision rather than sound logic. Good luck with your decision.

Hi,
We used Vicord and the process was very easy. They tell you what to do step by step. They also let us do a payment plan which was great. We just paid it off. It took us a year. Now all we have to do is make one yearly payment for the storage. For us it was a no brainer. It might be expensive but it is worth every penny. Good luck!

When I was prego with my first, I asked my OB if I should do this. She said maybe sometime in the future, but right now she does not recommend it b/c there are very few things it might help, and just not enough research has been done yet. She thought the expense was too great for possible benefits. We did not bank our blood.
Good luck and enjoy your new one!
J.

I am a doula in the Denver area and have had several clients say they wanted to bank cord blood, but once they started doing the research, 1 decided not to do it and 2 choose to donate cord blood instead. They all said there was no real proof it worked and it was so expensive! Cord blood donating on the other hand is free and is proven to work save people's lives who have diseases like Leukimia. In the end, it is always your choice, but I encourage you to do research with a non-cord-blood bank. 60 Minutes did a piece on it a little while back. Good Luck! www.birthfirstdoula.vpweb.com

Hi T.

I did cord blood banking with my son 2 years ago. I used CBR and had a C-section as well. It was a easy process you just need to make sure you keep telling everyone that is what you are doing and have the collection stuff when you go in for your c-section and then keep reminding them so they dont forget because then it needs to be collected within a certain amount of time. I put my step dad in charge of collecting it back and making the phone call and handing it off so I didn't have to worry about it. Here in CO they had someone right out to Lutheran to p/u and it was done. As for if I will ever need it who knows. It is one of those things like car insurance you pay a butt load for it and may never use it but when you need it you are super glad you have it. So to say if the CBB is worth it I cant say and hopefully wont ever need to but Im glad I did it as the storage fee is minimal each year compared to what I pay out in health insurance, car insurance, flood insurance.
Good luck

WE used CBR as they were better known, been around a long time. I had 2 c-sections and we still have the cord blood. The process is super easy.

Hi ! I work for A. Registry, a cord blood bank. Please look out for our upcoming Cord Advantage product launch that saves many more stem cells as compared to cord blood banking alone. Also, we have better pricing than most of our competitors. www.cordadvantage.com

Hi T. -

I know it's a lot to think about.. we considered cord blood banking with both our kids, and were pretty seriously considering for our second. Then I had complications, our pediatrician and OB said they weren't sure it was worth the money, etc. So we ended up not doing it.

2 years later my second child was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and I have to tell you that we really wish we had banked his cord blood. Who knows, perhaps a cure won't be developed in which his cord blood could be used, but it hurts to know that we haven't provided that option for him.

I don't mean too scare you into choosing this option, but I wanted to share my story with you. Good luck with your decision and your delivery!

http://www.utahcordbank.com/

I picked them because they were local. I didn't start looking into cord banking until a few days before I delivered. That wasn't enough time to order the collection kits from anyone else - most said to allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of the collection kits. I was impressed with the local company. They gave us a discount for twins - yay. They hand delivered the collection kits. They even billled us later instead of up front. The initial collection fee is the biggest. The yearly rental fee is low. I found their prices to be inline with their industry.

My doctor said that if we had the money, he'd recommend it...but if it was taking away money we needed - for food/rent/etc it wasn't worth it.

I always laughed at people who used cord banks. But then I found myself wanting to do it. One of my twins has a congenital heart defect. We felt they're close enough to being able to make heart cells that could replace the scar tissue on her heart from multiple surgeries that it was worth it to us. While I hope they could grow her a new heart, I know it's highly unlikely.

If she hadn't had a CHD, I would've donated her cord. I think if more people donated their cords, the world would be a better place - lol. My sis-in-law donated her kid's cord. She lives in maryland. They gave her a number so they could get her stem cells back if she needed them...(if they weren't used up)...and that didn't cost her anything. I don't know how you'd look into if they do that here.

good luck with your decision.

I'm not responding about the cord blood banking but about the artificial route you want to go to have a girl. If you know when you ovulate you have to get together with your guy right when you ovulate. They have the ovulation kits you can try if you don't know. That's how I ended up with 2 girls. To have a boy you have to wait later in the ovulation cycle. That's how I had my boy. But if your boyfriend has more Y chromosomes in his sperm then it's harder to have a girl. Good luck!

I have been looking into this too. This is my third child, and my other two kids have some medical issues. I just enrolled with CBR because they did a much better job addressing my questions and helping me find research etc. that was applicable to my situation. Also my OB and the hospital I will be delivering at have experience with CBR. I had a hard time deciding, but I think I made the right choice. I am not due until December. I spoke to my OB who has collected cord blood for other patients and he said that most people never use it, but our situation was a little different and if there are going to be advances in treatment or finding a cure it will be in regard to stem cells or gene therapy. This wasn't really an option with my other two kids, but if any of them could benefit from it and we didn't do it I would just be kicking myself for not taking advantage of this chance. I wish you all the best in making this difficult choice.