Before each of my 2 kids were born, we made arrangements to capture at birth and then store the blood from their umbellical cords. Cord blood is where stem cells come from. Stem cells are already being used to treat and cure over 70 diseases, including forms of leukemias/lymphomas, sickle cell, many metabolic disorders, some cancers, and even reverse some traumatic brain injuries. With science advancing each year, more and more uses/applications are being discovered (research now is on use for treating things like Cystic Fibrosis and Parkinsons).
We viewed it as a health insurance policy, if ever that baby, an existing or future sibling, even a parent or grandparent got sick and needed a "match" for a stem cell transplant - we'd have a chance to save their life.
Basically, as it was explained to us, you get one chance in the child's lifetime to get their stem cells - from the cord blood. Either you collect it at birth or have the nurses throw it away in the delivery room.
I'm wondering why most people don't do this? Are doctors not mentioning this option to pregnant women? My OB told us about it...
Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 6 yr. old daughter and a 4 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.
Hi! The main reason why we
Hi!
The main reason why we did not do it was the cost (for private banking). I can't remember exactly how much it was through Viacord, but I thought it was around $1,000 or $2,000.
Looking back...I really don't know why we didn't give it to a public bank for free, but my OB talked mostly about the private banking. We will likely donate to a public bank with our second baby.
http://www.phxgrocerydeals.com
I recently spoke to 2 nurses
I recently spoke to 2 nurses who are involved in collecting the cord blood. One of the things they told me was that while it is very worthwhile to donate to a public bank, the odds that you would be able to use the cord blood for your own baby sometime in the future is almost nil. The problem is that many scientists believe that if someone gets, for example lukemia, then there is a strong possibility that one of the major contributing factors was that person's genetic makeup. For this reason, they don't want to use the same stem cells that may have contributed to the cancer; it's better to use stem cells from an unrelated but compatible donor. This makes sense to me. Plus, the cost of private banking is prohibitive. It would be better if all cord blood was donated to a public bank.
I did a lot of research
I did a lot of research about it when I was pregnant with my twins. Although cord blood banking sounds like a great idea, the cost is pretty expensive and, as a previous poster stated, the odds of it ever being able to help the child is almost nothing. Therefore, we decided it wasn't for us. Oh, and from what I've heard from my mommy friends, most OBs do tell them about the option, but even they don't really recommend it.
You know, if cost is an
You know, if cost is an obstacle, most companies have both "gift registries" that people can contribute to (esp. if a 2nd/3rd child when you don't need the basics anymore!), and also payment plans (where the financing is way better than putting it onto a credit card).
For us, likelihood was based upon illnesses already in our family. My mom had breast cancer, my mother-in-law has Parkinson's. For us, it was those diseases, and the fear that they will re-occur, etc. that made it worthwhile.
I figure they are only going to learn more applications for it over time...
Public banking (free donation) seems like a no-brainer. Its like organ donation, except that the stem cells can help any organ!
Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 6 yr. old daughter and a 4 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.
I just want parents out
I just want parents out there to understand that people do use their own cord blood to treat cancer. This is fairly new but three cases have already occured where a patient stored their cord blood and used it to treat leaukemia. Any number pointing to probabilty of use is premature. This idea of storing cord blood is still fairly new. ACOG, OBGYN's source for information changed their views on Cord from 1997 stating that patients should be given balanced and fair info. Please read this article that is a new study basically saying that the chances of needing a stem cell transplant are much higher then previously reported.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&news...
If you are interested in saving your babies cord blood be aware of this company.
http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/732813.html
wow - that's
wow - that's interesting!
Thanks for the information/article!
Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 6 yr. old daughter and a 4 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.