Cord Blood Banking

[jennifer1143]

I am 3-4 weeks from delivery and realize this post is kind of late. I'm wondering if anyone has any information on cord blood banking? Should we do it - if so public or private? Any recommendations on where to bank it? We live in South Dakota - I asked the doctor about it and he said normally they don't bank the cord blood, but would if requested...Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks again.

Jennifer

[heidi_timms]

We didn't do it for a few reasons. The ped that spoke to our Lamaze class didn't recommend it and because of the expense. The ped gave a reason for not recommending it, but I can't remember what it was. I just saw some rates in an ad in American Baby magazine. One company charges $365 initial fee and $90 per year after that to store it. I'm sure there are great benefits for cord blood, but I would look into it more before forking out the $$$!

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[lukkykatt]

I asked my OB about the cord blood banking, and he recommended not to do it for a few reasons. He said that the expense of collection and storage is high compared to the chance that you would actually need it. He said that depending on how the blood is stored it may not actually be usable if/when you should need it. And he said that there is something in the works to be able to use anyone's cord blood (not sure where that stands right now) if the need should arise.

He also told me that he did not store the cord blood himself with any of his children.

Of course, if there is any reason that you think your children may have a higher risk of needing the cord blood, you would have to take that into consideration as well.

Good luck on your upcoming delivery!

[SASM]

Heidi,

I was trying to donate my cord blood and they needed the paperwork in by no later than 35/36 weeks. On a side note, they told me that quite often donated specimens are routinely rejected because they are collected improperly or there may not be enough due to the delivering OB not being familiar with the collection process, etc. So, if it is not too late to bank your cord blood, make sure that your OB is experienced with collection.

Like the above post stated, it can be VERY expensive to store cord blood. One OB told me that the blood is not good indefinitely, so unless there is a significant history in either your or your DH's family it may not even be usable after ten years or so. Note: That is just one OB's opinion, though.

That being said, there are several cord blood banks out there. ViaCord is a really popular one. If you are delivering in NYC the NY Cord Blood Center (I think their #s are 800.842.2566/212.570.3230/866.767.6227) may be able to help you. I was going to donate through Cryobanks International (800.869.8608) ~ they also have a storage bank. Please consider donating.

HTH and good luck!! :-)

[Momof3Labs]

Jennifer, you are too late. Cord blood banking or donation arrangements must be made a minimum of 6 weeks before your due date.

We banked Colin's cord blood because of a few risk factors. Yes, it is expensive but it was worth it to us.

If you aren't going to bank your own cord blood, at least donate it (if you are at least 6 weeks from delivery) - it is free to you and painless and harmless to both you and baby! And it could save lives! Here's a link to a place that will take donations from anywhere in the U.S.:

http://www.cryo-intl.com/

[sntm]

There are a lot of hospitals that don't offer the option of donation, because of the time/expense/whatever of collection and storage. We tried to arrange it and couldn't.

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03

[chrissyhowie]

Unless you have some family history of illness that could benefit from it, private cord blood banking is not recommended for most families. Public cord blood banking is like donating blood -- it goes into a general pool and you likely would not receive the sample that you donated back if it was needed.

Here's a link that I thought was helpful:
http://www.americanbaby.com/ab/story.../data/9178.xml

Edited because the link I put up at first led you to nowhere! Now I think one works.

HTH,

[mommyj]

If you decide you want to bank the cord blood, I'm pretty sure some places offer a rush fee for last minute processing. That being said, I still haven't decided whether or not to bank my baby's cord blood. The hospital where I'm delivering doesn't offer the option of donating to the national cord blood bank or I would do that. I think whether or not it's worth the money for a private blood bank really depends on your family's medical history. Like other posters mentioned, I have heard stories where the hospital didn't get enough blood, or didn't collect it properly.
Good luck with your decision. I'm trying to decide this myself, so I was glad you posted this question.

[jd11365]

We did it at New England Cord Blood Bank. It was the least expensive...$1300 (though I think it's $1500 now) for all fees and 20 year storage (longer than other services). With the improvements in technology we felt we might regret not having done it if it could have been used to save the life of a family member in the future. We may hopefully never use it, but if we needed it, it's nice to know it's there.

I added the website if you want to check it out...
http://www.cordbloodbank.com/

[August Mom]

We donated our cord blood and didn't have to make advance preparations to do so. We were asked upon admission whether we wanted to donate. We were told that by donating, this gave us priority status in receiving cord blood from the blood bank should we need it. However, it would likely not be the same cord blood that we donated.

I asked my doctor about private cord blood banking and she didn't recommend it, especially with no known risk factors. She thought that the high cost and uncertainty of later use of the cord blood outweighed the small chance that we would need it.

If you're interested in donating, ask your doctor and/or hospital for more information.