cord blood banking « Back to Group Discussions

[spotty4]

Ok you mommy veterans, give us the lowdown!  As this is our first pregnancy we really are flying blind at the moment.  Is cord blood banking really something worth looking into?  Even if it is potentially cost-prohibitive?  Have you done this?  With all your kids?  Some of them?  None of them?  Plan to in the future?  I'm interested in the pros, cons, and every view in between on this option.  Thanks for your insight.

[womenswisdom]

I have not done cord blood banking with either of mine. If a child has a disease that can be treated by cord blood, it is often impossible to use their own cord blood, because the problem exists in the stored blood. I don't have a family history of disorders that could be treated with cord blood. Also, I feel it is of supreme importance for the cord to stay attached to the baby until it has stopped pulsating and all the blood that's supposed to be in the baby is in the baby. Sometimes cord blood can be retrieved for storage after that, but frequently not.

[Tenk]

After my c-sections I donated babies cord blood.  My hopes are that if my children ever needed cord blood for what ever reason that they would receive it since we donated theirs to help someone else :)

L was born at 33w so I'm not even sure hers could've been left attached until it stopped pulsating ?!
 

[bearandotter]

We have stored cord blood for my daughters and will again. 

It is not true that you cannot use the child's blood for them. It is true for things like stem cell transplant for cancer and sickle cell, but not for some of the newer trial uses like cerebral palsy and diabetes. Plus it could be helpful for siblings or even you. 

We left the cord unclamped for a few minutes and then did the collection. We still were able to collect a good quantity/quality sample for storage. 

My kids are mixed-race. This makes finding an unrelated donor almost impossible should they ever need stem cells. This is ultimately why we chose to bank and store the cord blood for them. 

You do have the option of donating the cord blood to a public bank (free)- so that any person (or even perhaps your child) could benefit from the donation down the road. I think this is what we would have done if my children were 'all'-white - when the chance of finding an unrelated donor would be much higher in the minute chance they ever needed stem cells.