Babble

what's your take on cord blood banking? are there any btdt moms who have done it? we have family history that gives us reason to bank according to our OB but i was looking for what other people are thinking.

We decided against it because I couldn't find any hard data to prove its usefulness. For that amount of money, I want something more than a remote possibility.

I found this article in the San Francisco Chronicle interesting: IS IT WORTH BANKING YOUR BABY'S CORD BLOOD? The article came out after our daughter was born, so it had nothing to do with our decision. 

 Good luck, whatever you decide!
 

We didn't do it because the usefulness still seems speculative at this point, given the great cost.  I do expect they'll find it to be useful in the long term, but the cost-benefit ratio just leaned us against it.

Same here, we have some family history that might make it seem useful - but we decided against it after doing some research on it. Now pregnant with #2, we aren't even discussing the option.

we did bank CB for baby #2 but only because it was free for us because I'm a midwife.  I felt a little funny accepting it since I know how much they charge other families.  I also know that they put on extremely fancy dinners that they pay participants hundreds of dollars to attend (because I was on the receiving end a few times.)  The major cord blood banking companies spend a ridiculous amount on marketing - probably an unethical amount on marketing.

 Another reason against doing it is that it is incredibly disruptive after the birth.  I had a really wonderful home birth and as soon as the baby came all I wanted to do was focus on him and enjoy my postpartum high, but there was all this attention on getting the cord blood.  

With all that said, I think the future possibilities are the reason to do it.  There have only been a few dozen transplants of banked cord blood, and I don't know the proportion that have been successful.  But I think there is a huge amount of research in this field and likely to be a lot more uses in the future. 

 Here's an interesting blog entry with another perspective. 

Due to our backgrounds, we too were recommended that we may want to do it.

My wife's ob/gyn. compared it to insurance, saying that her husband would tell her that if they can afford it they should do it.

On Jan 2 '07 American Acad. of Pediatrics recommended public banking.

http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jan07cordblood.htm 

I think public banking is probably the direction we're going to go.   
 

My husband's brother banked the cord blood for both of their kids, but they have money and we don't, so we didn't.  I didn't see any overly compelling reason for banking it, given the cost.

If anything, I'd like to donate cord blood- not paying to keep it in case my family might need it some day (slim chance), but to allow it to be used for further research and/or in case someone else can benefit from it. I can't afford banking anyway, but I'd like to think it could do some good to someone.

There was no question in my mind regarding banking my baby's blood.  I sort of viewed it as a seatbelt.  I pray I'll never need it, but it's a secure feeling knowing it's there.  Should my daughter get sick somewhere down the road, and given the most remote possible chance that her cord blood could save her life, well at least it's a viable option.  I'd rather years from now look back at "all that money wasted" thankful that she didn't need it than give way to the vain concept that nothing bad will ever happen and forego all preparation for the "what if"s in life.  I had done my research and weighed my options, and as a single mom I did struggle those first six months to make the payments, but they worked with me and were patient.  Still,I didn't think the cost outweighed the security, and I don't make a lot of money and still feel the fee to be reasonable, though touted as overly expensive in some other posts, I've read.  I encourage it, but just like breastfeeding, it's just not for everyone.

I banked for my first and though I'm less enthusiastic this time, I do plan to do it again for my second (due in 6 weeks).  I absolutely agree that the odds of it being useful are slim and people should not feel pressured to do it, but who knows what medical advances will be made in the next 20+ years?   If this my only opportunity to get the stuff,  I'd rather do it and risk wasting the money than regret it later. I waste enough on other things - can anyone tell me what a crib bumper is good for? 

I did a hospital birth and the whole collection process was no big deal - it was over in a minute and seamless with the company I used - it's pretty routine for most doctors (mine did charge $300 for the procedure). 

I spoke to my OB when I was pregnant and he basically told me that it was like mortgaging your organs and they were not even sure it would be useful when needed. I decided instead to to donate the cord blood to be used to save the life of another. That way when my boys get older I will tell them their cord blood was used to save someones life. I advocate cord blood donation it is a good idea but that was my choice and I respect the choices people make that fit their lives. Hiteshi

 Consider donating your baby's cord blood.  The chance that your baby will need it is remarkably low.  The chance that someone's baby will need it is 100%.  We donated and are very happy.  Our baby can be proud to have been an organ donor just moments after he was born!

The thing that cord blood banks don't tell you is that if you bank your baby's cord blood and later down the road, they develop leukemia or another type of cancer- God forbid! there's no way that they can use your baby's cord blood to treat that illness because of presence of the cells/DNA for that cancer in the cord blood. When I was admitted for induction, I was approached to donate to a public bank. By doing that, it makes the cord blood available to someone who needs it and gives me, my husband and my child a "credit" with them should we ever need it. Public banks aren't as widely available, but in larger cities, one should be available. (We're in NYC.)

 HTH

We didn't bank it, because 10 years ago, that wasn't really even an option.  We did, however, donate it to a public blood bank. Earlier this year, we got a call from the blood bank asking us if we were still willing ot have it used to save someone's life.  We were, and it did. Someone who otherwise wuld have died got a second chance at life due to the cord blood that otherwise would have just been thrown away. Cord blood is amazing stuff - flexible and filled with stem-cells.

I blogged about it earlier htis year, if you want ot read the whole touchy-feely story: http://www.justcauseit.com/blogs/alyssa-royse/my-daughter-saved-someones-life-today

That said, if we had it to do over (which we don't, there will be no more babies for us) we would bank it. Even if the research is inconclusive now, no one knows where we will be 10 years from now.....  And for me, the $2k or so is a gamble that's totally worth it.  And most of them have payment plans etc....  I'd do it, but then, I've seen it work, first hand....