Cord Blood Banking - Is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would rather have my OB delay the cutting of the baby's cord (which can return about 1/3 of your baby's blood from the placenta to baby) than immediate cutting of cord in order to "milk" it for collection. It is an expensive, unproven business right now. I would say no.

This is incorrect information. I did cord blood banking and thought this too, however, my midwife (with GW/Wisdom, last summer) delayed clamping and still got a more than adequate sample for banking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would rather have my OB delay the cutting of the baby's cord (which can return about 1/3 of your baby's blood from the placenta to baby) than immediate cutting of cord in order to "milk" it for collection. It is an expensive, unproven business right now. I would say no.

+1

[Anonymous]

I did it, as did a pediatrician friend. I don't really know whether it was worth it, since a number of the diseases that can be addressed with stem cells require someone else's stem cells. For example, a kid with childhood leukemia before age 3 would need the stem cells of a healthy person; their own stem cells would be presumed to be diseased. There are, however, diseases for which autologous stem cells can be used, and I am a belt-and-suspenders kind of person.

[Anonymous]

The odds of a child using its own cord blood are 1 in 200,000. And note, those aren't the odds of getting a beneficial treatment--those are the odds of even using it to try. Count me out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to donate to the national cord blood bank instead. The chances of needing it ourselves are very small, and the cost of keeping it is pretty high (when you think about how many years you would be paying to store it, it really adds up). If we had specific reason to think it might be useful to us down the road, based on family history, it might have been a different decision, but with our current situation, it didn't seem worth it.

+1 to all of this. We will be donating as well, and hope that it'll be useful to another family out there.

This is what we're considering as well.

[Anonymous]

Like some of the PPs, I'll be doing delayed cord clamping, which I believe will have more benefits than banking the blood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The odds of a child using its own cord blood are 1 in 200,000. And note, those aren't the odds of getting a beneficial treatment--those are the odds of even using it to try. Count me out.

Goodness, that's depressing. What a scam this is!

[Anonymous]

My OB discouraged cord blood banking and I didn't know there was an option to donate. How do I find out more about this so I can raise the possibility with my OB?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My OB discouraged cord blood banking and I didn't know there was an option to donate. How do I find out more about this so I can raise the possibility with my OB?

I asked my OB about donation, and they gave me the web site link to get the screening paperwork. Some OBs will waive the collection fee if you are donating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have any of you decided whether or not you are going to do cord blood banking? Does anyone know someone who actually needed or used cord blood to treat a later illness in a child or family member? We are trying to decide whether or not it is worth doing and the expense doesn't really bother me if it can actually be used in a medical situation later, but in doing a little research it looks like the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't recommend it because of the unproven nature of it. We asked our OB and she didn't say not to do it, but wasn't too enthusiastic about it. She also said that for a Caucasian, there are often matches in the donor registry, so maybe just donating it would be a better idea.

I don't want to waste money on something of little value, but if I had a child who becomes sick will I really regret not doing it? Thoughts?

It's my understanding that no-one EVER, anywhere in the world, has been able to use cord blood that they themselves donated. It's a scam designed to prey on emotional parents and to extort large amounts of money out of them seemingly forever. Flat out a massive waste of money and a con.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say yes. We did it and things that are being done and cured with stem cells are increasing all the time. It is a bit of an unknown, but for us, I would hate to need it someday and not have it.

SUCKER!!!

[Anonymous]

Do it! I know someone whose child got an autoimmune disease and this saved her life. Do it, pls.

[Anonymous]

We did it for our kids. It is just something we thought we could afford and would regret not having done if someday, God forbid, one of our kids gets so sick that looking at cord blood is an option. When I can't turn back the clock and "redo", I do. Same thing with VPEP. Bought 4 years of school for both kids. Done and now saving for possible out of state and for room and board. Can't "redo" that either.

[Anonymous]

Cord blood works best (or i should say is used more often) for siblings and to some extent parents. If you can easily afford it, it can't hurt to bank. Don't stretch yourself.

I banked my son's because he has older siblings with some disorders who might benefit from cord blood stem cells in the future.

[Anonymous]

we did delayed cord clamping, I felt it more important that the baby start with his entire blood supply.