[lacih8607]

Does anyone have any opinions/information on cord blood banking? Or has anyone banked there cord blood? I hadn't heard anything about it until a few weeks ago, and I just don't know what to do?!?!

[4GiftsfromGod]

I would bank the cord blood it can help save your child’s life.

[erinella]

Here is a link to viacord, the company that my hospital uses. I haven't researched too much, but have heard that it is VERY expensive.
http://www.viacord.com/?gclid=CK-Qit...FR6AWAodrUzezw

[twinzplus3]

I am totally in favor of banking cord blood in a public bank so that someone could use it or that it could be used for research. I would not bank my own baby's cord blood for my own personal use. It is incredibly expensive and it is NOT a guarantee that the cord blood cells could be used if your child got ill.
A New Reason to Bank Your Baby's Cord Blood

It was not an option for me, but I would encourage people to look into public cord banking.

[purelegance]

Originally Posted by twinzplus3

I am totally in favor of banking cord blood in a public bank so that someone could use it or that it could be used for research. I would not bank my own baby's cord blood for my own personal use. It is incredibly expensive and it is NOT a guarantee that the cord blood cells could be used if your child got ill.
A New Reason to Bank Your Baby's Cord Blood

It was not an option for me, but I would encourage people to look into public cord banking.

do you know of any public banks? everywhere i've heard of is private & like you said, incredibly expensive. i would imagine public banks are cheaper?

[twinzplus3]

Public banks are free because really what you're doing is donating your baby's blood that has the potential to be used immediately upon finding a match. Also, it is my understanding (although I'm not well researched in this) that cord blood banks also donate stem cells from the cord blood for research. Here are a few links I found:

http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Ba..._CB/index.html

http://parentsguidecordblood.org/con....shtml?navid=9

The second is a list of public cord blood banks but I know they're not very wide spread. It was not an option when I gave birth to the twins and that was just two years ago.

[lacih8607]

thanks twinz! i've been getting TONS of information about the private cord blood banks, but none about the public banks. so i'll definitley check out your links

[ruthann8]

I am also in favor of public cord blood banking. My dh has juvenile diabetes and his father passed away of leukemia. Research for these diseases can benefit from public cord banking along with many others.

In an article I recently read the AAP encourages public banking for various reasons. One is the cost of private banking. Another being the likelihood that a child will ever need his own cord blood is 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 200,000. And the preliminary research indicates there may be DNA mutations in cord blood obtained from children who later develop diseases, rendering the blood unusable, though this is still a gray area. Because of this, private banking would be beneficial more for siblings and other family members verses the baby. The article also did state that private banking may give you, peace of mind, knowing that potentially lifesaving cells are available. (Banking on Hope, by Kim Acosta, in Fit Pregnancy Aug 2007)

I am unable to afford private banking. So the idea to donate it to public cord banking gives me “peace of mind” by knowing it can be used by those who need it or for research for diseases that greatly affect my family. I just hope that if the time comes for my child or family member to need cord blood there is a match available in public cord banks!

[maryavan]

We banked our son's cord blood. We had the money, and now it's just $95 yr. For me, I wanted to do it b/c of the possibility I might need it some day. It isn't just for the kid who the cord blood came from who can use it. My family is just me, my mom, and an estranged brother. No cousins, no aunts or uncles. So the cord blood could potentially be important to me, my mom, or another child we might have. Compared to the thousands of dollars I pay in other types of insurance that I've never used over the years (auto, home, life), the $95 yr isn't a big deal to me. I'd rather pay $95/yr and never use it versusr saving the $95 then having something pop up that cord blood from my own child could have helped fight.

Public banking is a good option, too. It is just sad to think how much of this potentially important life saving resource is just thrown away every day!

[lacih8607]

Unfortunatley, there are no centers in PA, where I live. Can I donate to another state?