Has anyone banked their babies cord blood?

[WooChx]

I'm really intersted in this. My OB recommened using the generic bank that you just ship the cord to as a donation. Then if anything happens you can use the next closest match in their system. She said it made more sense that the banks that store your babies cord. Pointing out that these are privately owned companies and there is no guarantee what will happen to the cord should the go out of business. Also pointing out the likelyhood of needed it is very slim.

Any thoughts?

[jbmommy]

I banked privately with Viacord. I have a strong family history of illness and I wanted to be guaranteed my DS cord would be available specifically for a family member. I do think that donating is also a GREAT way to go. If you want more information on why I banked you can email me at [email protected] (because I don't always check the boards) just put cord banking question in the line. I did a lot of research on the subject.Also, Viacord will send me gift cards from time-to-time if anyone is interested.

[amazz]

My OB was not too keen on the whole cord blood thing because I don't have a family history of disease (unlike previous post) and she doesn't like the fact that you have to pay for storage. She told me that she would be all for it when hospitals start storing for free. I was also under the impression (maybe this was just my misunderstanding of the how cord blood works) that if something happened to my baby then I would be able to use the blood for them, but actually you are storing for a subsequent child. Hope this helps.

Angela

[jbmommy]

Hi Angela,

I think you might want to check with the bank you are working with. I do believe that you can mark the cord blood for someone but there is much paperwork involved with that so if you are delivering soon I just want you to be prepared. My girlfriend was going to mark her babies’ blood for someone specific in her family and she was going to put the cord blood in a public bank. She had many problems (including pre-test but she was due any second and also if she delivered on the holiday weekend she won't be able to donate) and in the end banked with Viacord also.

Also, I thought when you donated to a public bank the cord blood would pretty much be gone within 5 years for someone in need. Again, I could be wrong so check with the specific bank.

I live in NY and I do hope they have more public banks here with less paperwork and more efficiency but for now I will have no choice but to stay with the privates.

I wish you the best with your soon to be little one!
A

[HallsofVA]

We banked with Cord Blood Registry (CBR). While we hope we never need it, we got pregnant just 2 weeks after my dad died of leukemia, so we wanted a little piece of mind just in case there was some heridity issue.