Cord blood?

Thank you.
No, really.
You're too kind.
It's great to be back here...

 

Quick post, I wish I had time to go into more detail. I really researched the snot out of this one and sought advice from several doctors.

The chances that your child or a sibling will use your child's cord blood are infinitesimal.

The chances that another sick child somewhere out there could use your child's cord blood are actually quite good.

Which is why the really cool thing to do is to donate the cord blood to a public bank (usually located at a hospital.)

The private cord blood banks like Viacord are strictly for-profit-- and here's a big key-- if you knew someone who needed your child's cord blood-- a friend's child, a cousin, someone across the country-- you could not give that cord blood away.

What's so sad is that the cord blood stored in those private banks cannot be gotten to by the sick kids that could really use it.

Those private banks specify that it is only for use in your immediate family.

On the other hand, the cord blood in public banks is a huge national database for any sick kid across the country who might need it.

If your child became sick with one of the diseases that cord blood currently helps, the chances are far greater that he/she would be helped by the blood donated in a public bank-- not what you'd have stored in the private bank.

This has been discussed at length over and over on my moms board, and two people posted that they knew a child whose life was saved by cord blood from a public bank. Nobody has ever posted that they knew somebody whose family was helped by cord blood in a private bank.

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This is a fairly new area of medicine, so the issue of cord blood donation is not "out there"... and the for-profit companies have the money and marketing to make it seem like the best option.

I also KNOW that some OB/GYNs get a little "kick back" from these private companies to put the marketing materials in their offices. I don't blame the OB/GYNs for this for several reasons, but mainly because private banking isn't a crime, nor is is a horrible option-- it's just not the best option for your child and the public good.

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How do you donate to a public bank?

It's no cost to you. Somebody will come and pick it up, but there are some hoops to jump through.

Also, the paperwork has to be done, I believe before 34 weeks of pregnancy. (That may have changed.) I found all this out at 36 weeks-- bummer.

This site, the National Cord Blood Donation Registry, should tell you everything you need to know.

http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/Cord_Blood_Donation_FAQs/index.html

You can also Google "public cord blood donation" and find tons of information on public vs. private banking, and why the donation option isn't more "out there" as a choice.

Good luck with your decision and your baby!

 

;D

my favorite book.

 

We recently banked Baby CrazyCat's cord blood, and went the private route.

In the end, we just liked the assurance that if she needs her blood, it's there for her. (As opposed to the public bank, where you have no guarantee of receiving your own back, which is the best match).

It cost us about $2K up front, and the annual fee is $125.

It was borderline too expensive. But at the same time, I thought that it's about the cost of a day in the hospital. If she is ever really sick, $2K is the least of my worries.

 

That's not true, and I'm sorry the private banks are making people believe this.

A child's own cord blood is almost never used on that sick child.

Reason being: Why would you want to use the blood of a child who got sick to repair the disease? You'd want to use the blood of a healthy child to help a sick child, which is exactly the way it works.

Usually the private banks' strongest argument is that siblings tend to be good matches. In other words, your healthy child's cord blood might be a good match for a future sibling who gets sick.

But it's nebulous.

I'm afraid the statistics just don't back up what you were lead to believe.

But I don't want to make people feel bad about their choice to privately bank, because again-- it doesn't seem to be a bad option.

I just wish more people understood the ramifications of public banking, how many lives it is saving, etc.

I understand some new legislation is aimed at doing that...

I just hope it's not lost in the recession.

 

We did Viacord.. they keep losing track of us...but.. it was piece of mind as we're older parents....There are cheaper companies. Your doctor's office might not be the best referral, because they, as someone pointed out, get a kickback.

 

Last post, I promise.

I wanted to add that neither the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) nor the American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists (ACOG) recommend private banking.


http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-01-08-2.cfm

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

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And finally, it took me awhile to find it, but here's an anecdote from my moms board.

"My 10 year old nephew was diagnosed in July with AML leukemia. His only chance for survival was a bone marrow transplant. No one in our family was a match so they went to the national donor list with no luck. They finally found donated cord blood that they used. His oncologist and transplant doctor said actually cord blood is best for his condition. He had his transplant the day after Thansgiving and is currently recovering. If not for this donation by nephew would not be with us. We were also told that his own banked cord blood would not have been used in this case."