Baby Blood Cord Banks

C.,
I would encourage banking it. I never woudl have thought that my daughter woudl be dignosed with leukemia at the age of 28 months old. This was 12 years ago. Cord banking was new. When I became pregnant with my now 11 year old we were able to save his under CBR's designated donor program, It now sits there God forbid she ever has cancer again. So much is coming out about the cord blood's possibilities. You just never know what card your family will be dealt. I sadly could not afford it when I had my last child and really wish I had. She was born with a kidney disease but does not need it.I have now heard there may be help in that area though from cord blood. If she can afford it I woudl encourage it. Otherwise if there is someon she knows with cancer she may also be able to do the designated donor program.

Donate the Cord Blood. If more people donated, we wouldn't need to store our own. It's free and you feel good about it. Also, you don't even know it's going on when you donate.. the nurses handle everything in the delivery room.

Keep in mind, some Drs get "kickbacks" so they'll push just about anything... that's my thought. It is extremely expensive. My Dr basically said it's very very expensive & unless you have a high risk in your family of certain conditions, it wouldn't be useful... but it is an "odds"t thing basically. To donate it is a great idea in theory, but a lot of work to be done prior - it used to be costly, but I'm reading that its free now - you just have to be prepared.

Bank or Donate is what I would recommend. Too precious to throw away.
I originally was going to donate, but when I started to look into banking I decided to go that route. I use CBR and think they are a good choice. It is expensive, but no more than any other life insurance policy from my perspective.
You do have to prepare for either, though. To donate they say you need at least 6-12 weeks to get the kit. Check with the red cross, they will mail it to you. Depending on who you talk to, I also heard there is some testing that needs to be done and of course a questioniere.
Banking companies also need time to send you a kit. Be sure you bring it with you when you get to the hospital, they don't have kits there, no matter what they tell you - don't take the chance.
We banked my first son's cord, but I did not have the chance to donate/bank my second childs cord as I planned because he came too quick and was delivered by the RN. There was no MD to do the collection. I hated that it was not saved.
Good luck!

I agree with those that say donate it. The cord blood will be genetically the same as your own child's blood, so if your child has some genetic condition, the cord blood will not help. I was told the only reason to bank your child's cord blood would be in a situation where you have an older child with some kind of condition and you have a 2nd child. Then, as long as your 2nd child is healthy, the cord blood may be able to be used for the older sibling. Otherwise donation is the way to go. I suppose if there is a high risk of a certain condition that could be helped by the child's own cord blood, I could imagine doing it, but I'd do my research first. If they have no reason to suspect the child will have any problems, I don't see the benefit. In the off chance the cord blood could be useful, it would be better to try the donor banks for a match. It also costs a fortune to bank the cord blood (or at least it did when I looked into it several years ago) and my doctors said it was kind of a scam they guilt you into. I did notice none of the responses you got were from people who have actually benefited from it.

I banked my son's cord blood and have never regreted for a single day that I did. I have had cancer twice, and my doctor told me that even if my son never needed the cord blood for himself that it would be beneficial for me down the road if God forbid, my cancer ever recurred. He told me that it is not just the child who could benefit if something were to happen, but also relatives since it is a strong posibility that a relative of the child would be a match. If nothing else having it available helps me sleep better at night! To me it is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that it gives me.

My daughter is on the PDD, high end autistic spectrum, and there's now talk of blood cord research that may help. Unfortunately years back we didn't have these options. There are so many conditions that are affecting our children today, and advances that are on the horizon that may help to save this child's life someday. Cerebral palsy is another condition that when this blood is used can actually reverse this.
I can't imagine how your sister would feel in the future if her child needed this blood, and it wasn't available for her. L.
www.funbeachcondos.com

My husband and I did collect our daughters cord blood as the dr. billed it to us as "life insurance" for our baby. He said you may never need but in case you do it is there. Everyday researchers are finding new ways to use the blood, so in my opinion it is totally worth it!

I donated with all three of my boys. I figure if all moms donated their cord blood, we would all find matches if, god forbid, we ever needed it.

actually what I have heard is that it's only worth it if you have a family history of such diseases. But otherwise donating it is the best. They have found (according to various articles I have read on it) that your own cord blood isn't as good as a matched donor because whatever your disease is may occur again with the cord blood from you since your body will just mutate it again. But if you get cord blood from the donor your body won't mutate it into the bad disease. So if she can donate it, that is GREAT and very useful to someone. It's like organ donation without having to die. (oh that sounded bad!) But basically you can be saving someone's life by donating it, but storing it won't do you much good.

oh, and i sure hope your sister isn't 20 MONTHS pregnant!!

I donated my cord blood from my three deliveries. You can contact Life Source and they set you up. It is free, and you feel good about possibly helping someone who really needs it. I think the problem with banking your own is if your child has a problem, your own blood may not help because it might contain the same abnormalities. It is also very expensive. I would definately do some research on how feasible it is to bank your own vs. donating it. Good luck!

You must mean 20 weeks pregnant. Or else your sister is giving birth to an elephant. Just kidding.

I did the core blood saving with my first child 12 years ago. I have kept it just in case. I was going to donate the second child's cord except the birth happened so fast that I forgot the kit. Anyway, I would recommend doing it. I would definitely donate it for research. It could help someone with MS, leukemia, etc. I am a strong believer in stem cell research.

I would strongly suggest she donate the cord blood, if possible.

My daughter was diagnosed with leukemia when she was almost 2 years old and fortunately, my daughter did not need a cord blood transplant to cure her. However, I did learn that doctors will NOT use your own baby's cord blood (if you had banked it) in leukemia cases.

However, other patients (those affected by leukemia & other diseases) are looking for cord blood matches for transplants and rely strongly on donated cord blood in banks around the nation.

For more info, please contact a local blood bank (like LifeSource or Heartland Blood Centers) for info on how to donate cord blood.

Thanks for asking this question! Good luck to your sister too!

Hi C.,

I banked both of my daughters' cord blood (they are 5 and 2 now) and would definitely do it for a third child. The list of conditions that they can treat with the cord blood is getting longer with each baby that I have. We used New England Cord Blood Bank and they offered a discount when I had my second child. It is really worth it when you think about it seeing as it can also be used to treat other family members including aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. The initial cost is quite a drop in the bucket, but we only pay $125 a year storage fees per child. I would highly recommend it if your sister is thinking about it, or at least donating the cord blood to a public bank. You need to have the collection kit with you at the hospital when you deliver because there is a small window of opportunity for collection once the baby is delivered. Best of luck to your sister!