After giving birth to your child..

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

When DS was born (he is almost 13) I don't think I knew about cord blood banking. I only know ONE family who has done it - their child is a year younger than DS.

 

[themarquis]

Okay, I admit I am not an expert on cord blood!

But I have read a few things about how individual cord blood banking is controversial. Why? Because the cord blood banking companies prey on parent's fears in order to make a TON of money but in actuality, the odds that a family will ever need the cord blood they bank is very very slim. (not saying it would never be used, because it is occasionally, but it is extremely unlikely). Not only are the disorders that would require a cord blood transplant themselves unlikely, but also often there is not a good "match" (i.e., one of your kids gets sick but the blood you stored from your other kid doesn't match because of blood type issues).

Now, what goes along with this controversy is that people who are against it do feel that there should be a *national* cord bank. Basically, the idea would be that everybody who wants to participate could donate their baby's cord blood for free, and then if any of their family members ever needed cord blood, they could search the database and see if there was a match (it could be their own baby's blood or someone else's. Then if they never needed it, it could go to someone else who needs it, therefore helping so many people) Edited to add: to my knowledge this national banking doesn't exist right now, though there are ways to donate the blood for research and other stuf.

The argument is that when people privately bank the cord blood, their blood is probably going to be thrown out and never benefit anyone, (and they get gouged a lot of money), but if it were national, a ton of people could be helped.

Anyway, I am not really personally weighing in here -- I'm just giving the arguments that I've read. It is pretty interesting stuff!

 

[luvs_eeyore]

I definitely would've if I'd known anything about it, but ds was born 16 years ago and it wasn't anything that was discussed at the time. And I gave birth at a birthing center w/no drugs, etc. that was very progressive and it was never brought up.

 

[mefordis]

Sure. With each having their own banked, they have a 100% match. However, a sibling's cord blood only has a 50% chance of matching.

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May I ask (and again, feel free not to answer) why you banked both of your daughter's cord blood? According to what I'm reading here, wouldn't the cord blood from only one of your DD's be a suitable match for both?

Gotta say I love the DIS.. I learn so much here - seems like something new every day..

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I read up on it when I was pregnant with my youngest (DS4.) One of my best friends had really researched it and they decided to bank blood for their child, and she highly recommended that I do it as well.

When I looked into it I found that it was very expensive, the amount of blood donated would help the child up to about age 10 only (some websites made it sound like ANYONE in the family could be helped by the blood), and meant I'd have to deliver at a certain hospital in Seattle, the only one doing the cord blood collection at the time.

I was still interested in donating the blood to a blood bank. When I asked my OB about it, she said it wouldn't work for me anyway, since I needed a c-section; I think it had to do with too many people in the operating room, plus the facilities to collect, store and transport the blood.

I hope it becomes more common and all hospitals can collect the blood. I think it would be great to have a supply of cord blood for the community, just like other blood donations.

 

[krcit]

My best friends ds had leukemia as a baby and when she had her second ds, the insurance paid for his cord blood to be collected and stored. He is 10 now, I'll have to ask her what the story is with it now. Thankfully her oldest ds never needed it and has been cancer free for over 7 years

 

[mamacatnv]

It was not an option with DS, I honestly don't remember with DD.
My BFF did it, her son was known to have some issues in utero and the kidneys were thought to be affected. Given the uncertainty of his health they felt the costs were worth it. It was $1500 with an annual fee.

 

[EthansMom]

I looked into it when I was pregnant with my second child. At the time, my brother was battling non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and I was interested in banking the cord blood if it could be used to help my brother, if necessary. Our doctors told us that it would be improbable for the cord blood to be a match for even a close family member. Banked cord blood could help that child or *maybe* a sibling, but would be unlikely to match my brother. Also, we were told that a bone marrow transplant between siblings (if they matched) could often achieve the same results, without the expense of banking the cord blood for *possible* use.

Banking cord blood is VERY expensive. Some hospitals, though, will accept donations of cord blood at no cost to the donor. I would've happily donated my children's cord blood for use by someone else, if that had been an option at either hospital at which they were born, but it was not.

In the end, my brother's chemo and radiation worked and he has been cancer-free for 3-4 years.

 

[mtemm]

we couldn't afford it 6 years ago when my eldest was born, and didn't know about donating it. when I got pg 2 years later I planned to donate, but we had twins and that wasn't allowed. I would love to have their cord blood banked, though, and would have if I could have swung it.