Selecting a Cord Blood Banking Service

All of the large med centers have them. I don't know where you live. We are in N Carolina and I would use UNC.

We used CBR - Cord Blood Registry. They were highly recommended by my OBGYN. They made it very easy - quick to the hospital and low stress on our part. Ask your doc for their recommend, as well. Good luck!
www.cordblood.com

I used viacord and don't have an opinion either way. They were fast getting to the hospital and I didn't have any issues.

I would ask the cord bank what procedures they have in place to make certain that the twins’ cords and placentas are collected and stored separately. Ask if they perform testing to ensure that they haven’t accidentally combined the samples. Also, I would ask and double check with my own research, what volume of blood needs to be collected in order for there to be sufficient cells for transplant use later. It would be a tragic situation if you found when you desperately needed it that there simply wasn’t enough there to use. Multiple births are often smaller babies. I’ve always been told by the hospital that the birth weight of the baby has a direct correlation to how much blood they are able to collect. I would also ask what type of recourse you may have with the bank in a situation where you aren’t able to use the blood they have collected and stored because it was damaged, contaminated, lost, or insufficient volume.
It’s my understanding that multiple births aren’t eligible for cord blood donation, because of some of the reasons that I’m cautioning you to prepare for; not enough volume to match, type and transplant (even for your own family’s use – the blood would be matched and typed), and increased risk of mixing the two separate donations.
I’m putting this part of the reply in case others may still be researching what to do.
I chose to donate my children's cord blood. There are several excellent research hospitals across the country who are able to use the donations for leukemia and lymphoma patients, both adults and children. I've been a blood donor for years so, I always felt it fitting that in joining the world, there was also a painless way for my child to contribute, a small thanksgiving for the new life just given.
http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/i...
Congratulations on your twin girls! All the best to you and your family,
M.

I banked with cryocell www.cryocell.com They were suggested to me by my cousin who is a speech therapest and works in a hospital and people there told her about them. She banked all 3 of her kids and both mine are with them. You get a discount for each aditional kid you have coupons to give to friends when you refer them and they bank with them you get a free year of storage too. Not sure how it works with twins though

Hi T.,
I asked my OB and she recommended CBR. They have been around a long time. Also, be sure to ask for a discount if you or a family member is a health professional. I have several $150 coupons if you need them. I have been happy with everything so far. My sister and I both used CBR. Be sure to get your kit ASAP... I didn't realize that they have to mail you a kit. You will need one for each baby. You have to bring it to the hospital with you or they can't do the collection. (Call me dumb... When I was first checking things out, I thought I had things in place and I had discussed my decision with my doctor...) Then she said something about the kit... It was over nighted to me 2 days before my c/s!

Hi T.-
I work very closely with a cord blood bank and I would love to have you read this article before you make a decision about private or public-

http://www.eae.gr/new/silogi-om-gia-prospiki-xrisi.pdf

Please keep in mind that you are having twins and you are likely to have lower cell counts, lower quantity and quality which will impact your ability to bank. Of course that being said I do not know what brought you to the conclusion that you wanted to bank instead of donating for public use.

Please feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you would like to discuss further. I have a few more articles that I will try to find a way to send.

Please keep in mind that if you decide to donate your cord blood even if the cell count is too low for a clinical use they can ALWAYS use it for research and that is a beautiful and powerful gift to give back to society at large as well.

Good luck and CONGRATS. What a beautiful time in your life!!!

Hi T.! Congrats on your twins! How lucky you are! My husband and I banked our son's cord blood through ViaCord. He is adopted, and we knew he would probably never have another "full-blooded" sibling, so we didn't want to pass up the chance to bank what could be a life-saving option for the future, God forbid. As it turns out, in a very sad twist of fate, his biological mother died in a car accident when he was just three days old, so we were 100% relieved that we spent the extra money to bank the cord blood. I researched the most popular companies and decided on ViaCord. They made the process so simple for us, especially since our son was born in a rural area where the doctor had only done one other cord blood banking procedure. We highly recommend them. Hope this helps. Best of luck with your two new miracles!

T.,
My OB recommended CBR with great confidence so that is what we decided to use. Best of luck throughout the rest of your pregnancy~ M.