Cord Blood Banking

[mk6439]

Does anyone have experience with cord blood banking? My husband and I are expecting a baby in November and we've been getting all kinds of literature from the cord blood banking services, but I've heard mixed things about it -- some people insist it's a scam preying on parents' fears, some think it's like an insurance policy and could save lives, etc. I would be inclined to donate the cord blood, but my husband had 4xEP last summer, so I know he has an increased risk of leukemia. Does anyone have any knowledge/thoughts on whether our baby's cord blood could be useful for my husband? I'll ask his oncologist at his next visit, but I'm wondering if any of you have any experience with this decision.

[Margaret]

I don't think it is a scam, the cord blood can be the most valuble thing you save. If I had another child, I would consider it given the chemo my husband has gone through...and if my first child is ever sick, the baby's cord blood could be used to save him too. (If they are a match, which they should be). Could it save your DH if something happened....that I am not sure about. But if cord blood could be used to save a sibiling, then why not a parent?? Let us know please what the Ono says.

[Mom]

Good question, I'd be interested in learning about this myself. My son's baby is due in October and they have been wondering about the same issue.

[dadmo]

I have a co-worker who has his childrens cord blood in storage. He's on a three week vacation but when he get's back I'll ask him about it.

[Fed]

There are many potential benefits to saving cord blood, many still untested, though. I don't think it's a scam, and I know of people who have done it (my boss being one of them). We considered saving Emi's cord blood, but it would have stretched our budget too thin. We really wanted to donate her cord blood for stem cell research, but the hospital wouldn't let us do it.

[Jay68442]

I used a company called cryo cell http://www.cryo-cell.com. At the time (a little over 5 years ago) it was the most affordable, not sure if they still are. Being a cancer survivor that had a bone marrow transplant the decision was easy for me. It was worth the risk. With the advances in science I believe that cord blood will have many uses in the future. I just hope I never have to use the cord blood I had storied for my daughter. Not to put fear in anyone but you do only get one chance. Once your child is born you will not get a second chance to save the cord blood.

As for the procedure. It was very simple and the hospital staff was very familiar with it. Again I'm not sure how things work now but this is how it worked when I did it. I signed up and had to pay for a kit. The kit included the storage containers and all of the directions the doctors would need. Almost immediately after the birth the doctor took blood from the cord. Once the cord blood was placed in the kit and sealed I had to call a number to have the kit picked up and same day shipped to the testing/storage facility. I remember the cost of the shipping to be about a $150.

[Karen]

When I had my daughter, almost 11 years ago, I looked into this as well but ended up not doing it based on the costs and early stages of development at that time. The long term stoarge had not been worked out then, but I'm guessing they have come down on cost and dealt with thw storage issue but am not sure. I don't think it's a scam either, and if I were to have a child now, with techology more advanced, my salary higher and the costs lower, I would do it.

I did some geek literature searches, but must say the information provided the best summary of where things are now is from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_blood

[mk6439]

Thanks everybody for your responses. Karen, that article, especially the public cord blood bank vs. private cord blood bank discussion, was very helpful. What I'm trying to decide is whether it's worthwhile to private bank (instead of donate) the cord blood, given my husband's specific risk. I'll definitely report back on what I hear from his oncologist.

[Karen]

So when is your due date? We LOVE baby pictures (especially of baby toes...so cute!)

[mk6439]

I'm due November 25, a Thanksgiving baby. I'll post pics when he arrives.

[ebfun7]

Cord blood

Just wanted to put my two sense in. Mu husband was diagnosed when I was 3 months pregnant. He ended up having a lot of chemo (including high dose). We asked Dr. Einhorn at this time if we should bank cord blood. He told us "no." He said although Ken's risk of bone marrow cancer will be slightly higher than others who have never had chemo it is not high enough to justify the cost. We really trust Dr. Einhorn so this was the reason we decided not to cord blood bank. I guess if we had all the money in the world we might have. :-)

[ebfun7]

One more thing I forgot

Dr. Einhorn also said that if we had another child with leukemia or a family history of leukemia then it may be useful to bank. Also he said that in order to transplant stem cells 6 out of 7 categories have to match between the donor and the recipient. He said a child's cord blood may only match with my husband half of the 7 categories (because they are half mom and half dad). He said there is more likely to be that 6 out of 7 match between 2 children from the same parents, hence why it may be helpful if we had another child with a bone marrow disorder we were trying to help. Hope this helps and makes sense.

[mk6439]

Thank you so much Erin!