Cord Blood Banking

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a service to use to bank cord blood? There are so many options out there and varying prices. I do not know where to start.

[Anonymous]

There are two schools of thought. You could donate it, or bank it for yourself. Most are saying there’s very little chance you can ever use your own banked cord blood. But I did it because I didn’t know what, if any advances there may be over the next 20 years.

Second, research the best collection and storage practices. There are several articles on line about this.

Third, check with a cord blood accreditation organization to see which companies meet their standards. I think they also look into financial solvency issues too.

I used CBR. At the time (2007), the major storage issue was cryovials vs. cryobags, with most articles saying cryovials were better for long term storage, and that’s what CBR used.

CBR and Viacord are the most popular.

[Anonymous]

We use CBR. I have nothing to compare it to, but we've been pleased with the customer service thus far. We are using them again for #2 due this month.

[Anonymous]

Question: We used CBR as well for #1 - great service! Do we need to bank again with #2? Since they're siblings, wouldn't the banked cord blood with #1 suffice should anyone in our immediate family need to use it?

[Anonymous]

We banked with Viacord. With all the medical advancements, we felt it was like insurance for our child.

[Anonymous]

When we were considering banking we looked at the Viacord and CBR - needed an option that would be available for us internationally, for when we leave US.

We eneded up with CBR for the sole reason that the OBG gave me a free CBR kit.

[Anonymous]

How much does this cost? If it's too much $$$, I'll donate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question: We used CBR as well for #1 - great service! Do we need to bank again with #2? Since they're siblings, wouldn't the banked cord blood with #1 suffice should anyone in our immediate family need to use it?

Isn't there a discount for siblings?

[Anonymous]

Where can I find articles about best collection and storage practices? I've tried google, but must not be using the right keywords. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I am very interested in the sibling questions. Do we need to bank or having banked for our first is enough and/or is there a sibling discount?
Thanks for sharing if you know the answers!

[Anonymous]

For the poster looking for weblinks and articles about cord blood banking, here is a site that would be a good starting point:

http://parentsguidecordblood.org/

It's a non-profit organization and discusses both public donation and family (paid) options. Hope it helps.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP/PP who talked about banking with #1 and curious about #2...

I spoke to CBR, where we banked previously, and of course they thought we should do it again. But they gave very good reasons behind it:

1) while the kids would be siblings, they are not genetically identical and therefor #1's cells wouldn't necessarily work for #2. in fact, as the mother and sharing immunities, etc. throughout the pregnancy, I have the highest probability to use them

2) because they are not genetically the same, in the event DC1 becomes ill and cannot use his own cells, the cells of DC2 would be the next best thing. after that, we'd have to get into donor matching, etc.

they sold me and DH. we have a history of disease in our family that can be "treated" with banked blood so the peace of mind was worth it for us. we also know someone who works for CBR (one of the main reasons we went with them) and got a significant discount - we're only paying $1000 vs. $1500. the sibling discount was only $300 but still a good discount.