Cord blood banking

653 Views 21 Replies 14 Participants Last post by djinneyah, Mar 30, 2006

Richie'sMama

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2006

What have you all decided about banking cord blood? Private, public, or not at all?

Thanks for your thoughts.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Tori Gollihugh

· #2 · Mar 29, 2006

We won't be able to do it at all because we will have our baby attached to his/her cord until a while after it stops pulsing. My midwife (and a growing community of midwives) believes that the "normal" jaundice most BF babies have after birth can/could be avoided if they were able to draw from their placenta more of the nutrients there.

I'm not going Lotus Birth because I don't exactly believe it's quite best (not convinced it would be especially beneficial) and I plan to use the placenta to help my own hormone issues (and hopefully avoid PPD THIS time!!!). But, I could see keeping the baby and placenta attached up to 3 hours after birth when the cord starts to shrivel (from what I've read).

I think this will have definite long-term benefits for my child. Whereas, cord blood banking is 'just in case' and may not be needed. JMO.

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alegna

· #3 · Mar 29, 2006

#1. We wanted our baby to get her blood at birth the way she was designed to.

#2. We had a homebirth.

-Angela

BCmamaof6

· #4 · Mar 29, 2006

I'm torn between doing cord-blood banking & waiting until the cord stops pulsating...

afishwithabike

· #5 · Mar 29, 2006

Let the cord quit pulsating. It truly is the best beginning for a babe. I did it with both my DC and I'll NEVER regret it.

KBinSATX

· #6 · Mar 29, 2006

The chances of ever being able to us it are so slim compared to the 'for sure' benefits of waiting for the cord to stop pulsing, etc.
We are planning on a homebirth so it's not really an option anyway.

nighten

· #7 · Mar 29, 2006

Oh for the love of pete. You can STILL collect enough blood to bank AFTER the cord's stopped pulsating.

We're banking with CBR -- they have excellent customer service, and my midwife isn't cutting the cord until it's stopped pulsating.

You can give you baby the blood right away and still save enough to potentially save her life later TOO. And I don't care how slim the chances are that we'll need it later. If there's one chance in a trillion, that's enough for us.

Richie'sMama

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 29, 2006

Forgive my ignorance, but please tell me a little more about not cutting the cord till it stops pulsating?

How long would that be?

What does it entail?

Thanks.

aweynsayl

· #9 · Mar 29, 2006

If it were financially plausable, I might consider doing it, but it's totally beyond our means.

I plan on leaving the cord attached til after placenta delivery, I've no idea if that would still work or not....

I would consider donating it to a public bank, so that it would be more likely to be used. I'd feel guilty for hording it.... I've heard that if someone in your family would need it, they'd be more likely to get a match from a public bank anyway, so that seems to make more sense to me, but to be honest, I've not looked in to it.

Obviously it's a huge personal decision with many factors, and I would hate for anyone to feel guilted for not doing it.

nighten

· #10 · Mar 29, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosemommy
If it were financially plausable, I might consider doing it, but it's totally beyond our means.

I plan on leaving the cord attached til after placenta delivery, I've no idea if that would still work or not....

I would consider donating it to a public bank, so that it would be more likely to be used. I'd feel guilty for hording it.... I've heard that if someone in your family would need it, they'd be more likely to get a match from a public bank anyway, so that seems to make more sense to me, but to be honest, I've not looked in to it.

Obviously it's a huge personal decision with many factors, and I would hate for anyone to feel guilted for not doing it.

Absolutely -- and my post wasn't intented to make anyone feel guilty (though I find it wildly frustrating that people are so glib about condeming banking when it doesn't have to affect when you cut the cord), but if you can't afford to bank privately, by all means PLEASE donate the cord blood to a public bank! You can wait until the cord's stopped pulsating to do this too. Call your hospital/birth center for more info on it.

(Richie's Mama, I'd suggest you do a search on the forums for more info on the cord pulsating issues as there are threads all over about it HTH

)

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mimid

· #11 · Mar 29, 2006

I asked my dad and step-mom about this. (They are both nurses and step-mom is one of the head NICU nurses.) Thye both said there wasn't much reason because we don't have genetic disorders in our family, they aren't as close to using stem cells as it seems in the media, and that cord blood helps the mother's family not the father's family. We will be testing all 3 on the slim chance that they are a match for my FIL (a leukemia patient) even though all the docs said it wasn't worth it. Then we will donate whatever we have so that people who need it now can use it.

OTOH, my sis banked my niece's cord blood and said she would do it for any future kids just on the off chance that they will ever need it.

pique

· #12 · Mar 30, 2006

I had wanted to donate the cord blood to the only public bank in Canada but found out that they will not accept it because I have had accupuncture (I guess because of the possibility of contamination??). Wouldn't you know it? The ONE time in my life, I have accupuncture is about a week before I learned this!

KBinSATX

· #13 · Mar 30, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by nighten
Oh for the love of pete.

I think the question was:

Quote:

What have you all decided about banking cord blood? Private, public, or not at all?
Thanks for your thoughts.

...not

Quote:

How ridiculous to you think other people's opinion or reasons are?

I am glad you are happy with your choice but you don't have to be rude every time this subject comes up.

Donation is great but for example there are no participating hospitals in Texas... As I understand it from the Marrow.org site's instructions you would have to have a participating hospital receive it.

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Richie'sMama

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 30, 2006

If there are no participating hospitals, you can donate through CryoBanks

If you are unable to locate your delivering hospital in the list below, you may contact Cryobanks International at 1-800-869-8608. Donations are accepted from anywhere in the Continental United States. Donors must meet Cryobanks International's eligibility requirements and register with Cryobanks International between their 28th and 35th week of pregnancy.

KBinSATX

· #15 · Mar 30, 2006

about volume
Just found this on the Donation site and thought it was interesting:
Q: What will happen to my child's cord blood if I donate it?
A: After the baby's birth, the umbilical cord is clamped, breaking the link between the baby and the placenta. The small amount of blood remaining in the placenta and umbilical cord, typically three to five fluid ounces, is drained and taken to a cord blood bank where the unit is processed and samples are sent for tests. To be stored, the cord blood unit must meet these standards:
* The unit must be large enough.
* The maternal and family health history must meet eligibility guidelines.
* Tests of the cord blood unit and the mother's blood sample must show no signs of infection or other possible problems.
If the unit meets these standards, it is frozen and stored in a liquid nitrogen freezer. The cord blood unit is then listed on the NMDP's Registry, where it will be searched for a matching recipient and then transplanted.

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kerikadi

· #16 · Mar 30, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by nighten
Oh for the love of pete. You can STILL collect enough blood to bank AFTER the cord's stopped pulsating.

Actually - no you really can't. After letting the cord stop pulsing my MW could barely get enough blood for the newborn screen. There certainly wasn't anything left for banking.
Not to mention that if you homebirth you cannot donate the cord blood.

Keri

alegna

· #17 · Mar 30, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerikadi
Actually - no you really can't. After letting the cord stop pulsing my MW could barely get enough blood for the newborn screen. There certainly wasn't anything left for banking.
Not to mention that if you homebirth you cannot donate the cord blood.

Keri

:

And a peaceful entry for my child is a thousand times more important than the off chance that the cord blood could be used later.

-Angela

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CityGirl

· #18 · Mar 30, 2006

There's no guarantee either way. Many practitioners CAN extract enough blood after the cord stops pulsing (often by massaging the placenta); some cannot. And some cannot get a good sample even if they DO cut and clamp immediately.

The AAP released a position paper firmly stating the practice of immediate clamping and cutting for the purpose of getting a good banking sample to be unethical.

In my mind, the first priority needs to be letting a newborn get the massive blood transfusion at birth from the placenta. That often does not preclude an adequate banking sample.

nighten

· #19 · Mar 30, 2006

double post -- sorry

nighten

· #20 · Mar 30, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by KBinSATX
I think the question was:

...not How ridiculous to you think other people's opinion or reasons are?

I am glad you are happy with your choice but you don't have to be rude every time this subject comes up.

Donation is great but for example there are no participating hospitals in Texas... As I understand it from the Marrow.org site's instructions you would have to have a participating hospital receive it.

I was NOT being rude! I'm frustrated because of the consistent condemnation of people, like me, who choose to bank, and the assumption it is unnecessary and/or that the baby suffers (cord not pulsating, etc.) because of it.

Honestly. "For the love of pete" to me implies frustration. That's what I meant to convey. Not rudeness.

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