Need advice.... unsure

[monica01]

hello members

i am monica we are expecting our first baby in few months ... me and my husband is thinking of making an important decision of Blood cord banking... can anyone tell me the details about it .. is it safe .. for both of us ( me and my baby ) to bank it .... anyone with similar experience ...please share ...



waiting for ur suggestion

thanks a lot

[hollytheteacher]

unfortunately it is pretty expensive and that was sort of the deciding factor for us. I have heard/read before that the blood is really only useful for your next children?? Not sure if it's right, but it's also a very small amount...

Also, many people on MDC actually ask their midwife/ob to delay cord cutting so that the BABY gets that blood in their body instead of wasting it or "saving" it.

[Beltane]

We're expecting our first in August so I also looked into blood banking. Although it is a nice idea, the theory behind it lies in the hopes that more research can be done and that 'hopefully in the future' the banked blood will be available to treat many different types of ailments due to new technology. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong). For that reason we decided to pass on the blood banking.

This is the disclaimer from the home page of the ViaCord website:

Although the potential use of umbilical cord blood is expanding rapidly, the odds that a family without a defined risk will need to use their child's umbilical cord blood are low. There is no guarantee that the umbilical cord blood will be a match for a family member or will provide a cure. As with any transplant therapy, therapeutic success depends upon many factors beyond the stem cells themselves including patient condition, type of disease, recipient-donor relationship and matching, and other factors. Cord blood stem cell research to treat additional diseases is experimental.The security of all personally identifiable information is of utmost concern to us.

http://www.viacord.com/cpc_apg_06090...FQLEsgodQmVoSA

Hope this helps! Good luck in your decision.

[SteelerMom]

I banked the cord blood from my first child and would have done it with my second and my current third baby if we could afford it. I am a nurse and see the potential more anything. You will likely never use it, but if you can afford it, why not have it just in case. It is completely safe as they are only taking something that would otherwise be thrown out.

[~Demeter~]

I like my doctors thoughts on it.... he says, if the blood is that important than the baby should get it.

We delay cutting the cord until the cord has stopped pulsating. There is still some blood leftover and that can be banked but many places think you can't do both. Aside from that... it's really expensive to bank the blood.

[fruitfulmomma]

What Demeter said. That blood belongs to the baby whose cord it is in. Cutting the cord right away can amount in a large blood volume loss to the baby.

[honeybee]

Here are a couple of articles talking about the importance of the baby receiving the majority of its chord blood through delayed clamping.

http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headl..._too_soon.html

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/health...lth-boost.html

http://www.medindia.net/News/view_news_main.asp?x=11437

Here is another informative thread on the subject over in Birth and Beyond.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1235576

[kl5]

We are due in September and our plan is to do delayed cord clamping and then donate whatever is left in the cord after that. In my midwives' experiences, there is still a tangible amount left and worth donating. In my thinking, this contributes to the science rather than locking the blood away for our use only in the event that the science ever comes around (and a family need arises). But I honestly can't say how my feelings would change if banking were something we could easily afford financially, which is not our situation.

[terra-pip]

I've never considerd it...it seems expensive. But I have heard a heart wrenching story of a mom who did that and her baby ended up showing signs of CP at a few months old...she was able to use his blood that she banked and his development has been better than would have been expected. So if you have the money I wouldn't see any harm in it at all. One never knows.

[monica01]

hello

hey thanks members for taking out time to reply. we have also discussed with our doctor and came to an conclusion that its perfectly safe. during furthur research with my relatives and friends got to know about some cryobanks for blood cord banking can anyone shed some light on it ...

thanks a lot

[cloe]

To anyone thinking of donating you have to get the process started early. I want to donate my babys cord blood but am unable as I am due now and hadn't thought of it in time. To donate is free you just have to set up the process.

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by SteelerMom

It is completely safe as they are only taking something that would otherwise be thrown out.

I'm pretty sure that's not the case at all. They have to clamp the cord right away and then take the blood that remains there. If the cord was left to pulsate and go limp on its own, there would be little to no blood left in it. I was under the impression that it has to be either or (clamp and cut right away or no cord blood). I strongly believe that allowing the baby to get the cord blood is extremely beneficial for baby (and mom for that matter, as I feel it aids in natural detachment of the placenta). I would go as far as to say it can actually be harmful if the cord is clamped and cut right away, especially for babies who are a little slow to start and might need the extra time and oxygen provided by delayed cord clamping.

As for the actual idea of banking, I agree it's a good idea in theory. The trouble is that, in order to keep the blood saved for your family, you need to pay a large sum of money plus yearly payments to keep the blood tagged as yours. You can donate for free (or a small fee, not sure) but in that case the blood will go to the first person who needs it. Also, there are only a few things the blood is actually useful for and the chances of needing it are slim to none. I also worry (and have heard stories) of the blood being used for DNA filing/testing/production of some sort. Definitely things I wouldn't be okay with. One of the reasons I chose not to do it is for the same reasons I would never again leave my placenta at a hospital. I cringe thinking about where that is now.

[WaitingForKiddos]

I agree with a PP...if it's such great stuff I want my baby to get it right at birth.

I'd say that there is harm in donating blood from a cord cut before baby can get it...it deprives baby of their own blood.

Seems expensive and, at best, only a slight possibility of being used by that family...even smaller chance it would be used by that kid.

Other than the act of sticking a needle into the cord I wonder what experience an obgyn really has with it...which would seem to be a peditratic specialist thing.

[SteelerMom]

Originally Posted by MammaB21

I'm pretty sure that's not the case at all. They have to clamp the cord right away and then take the blood that remains there. If the cord was left to pulsate and go limp on its own, there would be little to no blood left in it. I was under the impression that it has to be either or (clamp and cut right away or no cord blood). I strongly believe that allowing the baby to get the cord blood is extremely beneficial for baby (and mom for that matter, as I feel it aids in natural detachment of the placenta). I would go as far as to say it can actually be harmful if the cord is clamped and cut right away, especially for babies who are a little slow to start and might need the extra time and oxygen provided by delayed cord clamping.

As for the actual idea of banking, I agree it's a good idea in theory. The trouble is that, in order to keep the blood saved for your family, you need to pay a large sum of money plus yearly payments to keep the blood tagged as yours. You can donate for free (or a small fee, not sure) but in that case the blood will go to the first person who needs it. Also, there are only a few things the blood is actually useful for and the chances of needing it are slim to none. I also worry (and have heard stories) of the blood being used for DNA filing/testing/production of some sort. Definitely things I wouldn't be okay with. One of the reasons I chose not to do it is for the same reasons I would never again leave my placenta at a hospital. I cringe thinking about where that is now.

I personally don't remember the cord being clamped and cut any faster than with my subsequent delivery where I didn't save the cord blood. But, I could be mistaken.

[hollytheteacher]

Originally Posted by SteelerMom

I personally don't remember the cord being clamped and cut any faster than with my subsequent delivery where I didn't save the cord blood. But, I could be mistaken.

That is because you generally have to ask or put in your birth plan that you want them to "delay" cutting the cord. It sounds like your provider just cut it and threw it out because you didn't specifically ask for him/her to wait and let your baby receive all the blood. It's unfortunate that as the mom we have to ask for such things...you would hope/think providers would just do what is "best" practice!!

[lunarlady]

I looked into it for DD three years ago and was told it was either/or: You either delay the cord clamping, or you clamp and bank the blood. The residual blood that can be collected after a delayed clamping is so small that you can donate it (some research institutions pool the blood and use it for general research) but you cannot bank it because it is too small a volume. We went for delayed clamping as it was a proven benefit, and hope that if something tragic happens down the road that the research will have progressed to the point where cord blood isn't necessary for treatment.

ETA: Delayed cord clamping means not clamping for at least 10 minutes or more after the birth. Very unusual in a hospital setting. You have to specifically request this or they clamp and cut as soon as baby is breathing well. (Usually within a minute or two).

[kalamos23]

Just wanted to add my story - even if you request to have delayed cord clamping, you might have to fight for it. I requested it months ahead of delivery and my OB totally gave me about 2 minutes before he clamped and he was tugging on the placenta the whole time. I ended up with a PPH and a portion of the placenta retained and DD ended up needing resuscitation.

[monica01]

Thanks

Hello members

heartiest thanks for adding wonderful info ... and helping me and others who don't know about this process.. this type wonderful response from you all has encouraged me to share my little info which i have practically gone through .

I have contacted Cryobanks and almost finalize that to preserve my baby;s cord blood. They are offering various pricing plans with easy EMI options. You can ask for the more details through their website.

As far as the collection is concerned, here is some info:

After you've delivered your baby (either vaginally or by caesarean section) and the cord has been clamped and cut, your doctor inserts a needle into the umbilical vein on the part of the cord that's still attached to your placenta. As the blood flows out, it's usually collected in a special blood bag called the collection kit. The collection kit must be arranged in advance. Approximately three to five ounces is collected and the entire process takes less than ten minutes. The blood is collected either before or after the placenta is delivered. This process is painless and safe.

Once the blood is sealed in the bag, trained personnel from the cord cell bank will collect the blood. It is then shipped to the cord blood bank laboratory within 48 hours, where it's processed, tested and frozen for long-term storage.

Hope this will help.

Cheers!

[Tiffanoodle]

We opted for cord blood donation. I had discussed it with my OB and she said we could absolutely delay clamping until after it was done pulsing and then draw the blood after that. She actually brought up the delaying without me having to ask. If there hadn't been enough blood left after my baby got everything she could, we just wouldn't have done it.

As it turns out, I had a failed VBAC and needed a c-section. In this case, the cord had to be clamped and cut right away. If we hadn't been able to donate, fine. But if we hadn't donated it would have just gotten thrown away.

We can't afford to bank it for our own use, but I like knowing that it can be used for some good.

[monica01]

Hey
That was a nice info on delayed cord clamping ..One of my cousin also went through delayed cord clamping. Its quite confusing whether to go for delayed cord clamping or simple blood cord banking ... will post info on it after asking asking her .

Thanks
till then keep sharing