Cord blood

Is anyone else thinking about getting this collected/has done it in the past, how much does it cost and is it worth it?

What Mealz79 said. I'd consider it more strongly if we had particular specific health risks, but we don't. My personal opinion is that it's a bit of a scam really. (Will be interesting to see if this post survives intact given that CordBank is an advertiser on this site.)

Here's a useful quote from Sarah Buckley:

...the likelihood of low risk children needing their own stored cord blood (autologous transfusion) has been estimated at 1 in 15,000 to 20,000 at best, and a single cord blood donation is unlikely to be effective for treatment beyond childhood because the number of stem cells is too low.

Here's the official word from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages families to donate their newborn’s cord blood, which is normally discarded at birth, to cord blood banks (if accessible in their area) for use by other individuals in need. Storing cord blood at private banks for later personal or family use as a general “insurance policy” is discouraged.

According to the revised AAP policy statement, “Cord Blood Banking for Potential Future Transplantation,” the chances of a child needing his or her own cord blood stem cells in the future are estimated to range from one in 1,000 to one in 200,000. Private cord blood banks target parents at an emotionally vulnerable time when the reality is most conditions that might be helped by cord blood stem cells already exist in the infant’s cord blood. However, the AAP does recommend private cord blood banking for parents who have an older child with a condition that could potentially benefit from transplantation, such as a genetic immunodeficiency. (my emphasis)

If you're interested in the science behind that statement it's all here.

Hope that helps

We did it for my DD, now 18months, and will be doing it for the new bump as well, although my god has the cost skyrocketed!! It was $5000 all up including 18 years storage 2 years ago! My husbands side of the family has a history of neurological diseases like Huntingtons and MND (which his father died of) and yes, we do see it as a bit of an insurance policy. Also, the science is developing soooo quickly, its amazing what they can do now, and who knows what they will be able to do with stem cells in 5, 10 or 20 years time.

The collection process was fine, there was a trained midwife as well as my own at the birth, who took care of everything. We had to carry the collection pack around with us for the couple of months leading up to my due date as well, just in case I went into labour early. One of my friends did lose her deposit with her baby though as they couldn't get enough blood from the cord. If you have any other questions just holler!

We've done it for both our kids. I like weegee's odds cos I hope we never have to use either or them. Also she wrote about donation which is something you can't do in NZ, if we could we would have just done that. Don't know why NZ don't do that when most other countries do.

We pay $2300 each year to insure our house, lives and cars so I figured paying $5000 (which is what you pay if you pay storage costs upfront) is not that much considering.

The collection was easy both times, first time was c/s and that was fine, didn't even notice them do it and then second time was a vbac and she just took it before I pushed the placenta out. The only downside is you can't have a physiological third stage. Oh they take blood from you too as part of the process, with the c/s they did that before theatre and with the vbac I can't remember when she did it.

We decided that DD getting her cord blood after birth (and hence the stem cells in her body) was a better choice for us, and therefore waited until the cord had gone limp before cutting cord.

The cord blood being discarded usually happens if the cord is clamped and cut while still pulsing (common practice in the US).

I've looked into it and was very interested until I realised how much it cost. The thing is that if you don't end up needing it, it's a pretty substantial cost, and it's ongoing for storage. On the other hand, if you don't get it and needed it in the future, you'd be kicking yourself for not getting it done when you had the chance.

The thing that made up my mind (not only that I simply don't have the money) was that I think there have been about 2 cases in NZ where it has been used so far - the rest are in other countries. Which makes it a nice little earner for Cord Banking companies in NZ!

If you can afford it and want the peace of mind (I would still feel better knowing it was there 'just in case' but not unless I win lotto) then go for it - but do your research first. Also I would say if there's a family history of illness that cordblood has been utilised for you might be thinking a little more seriously about finding the money for it.

I guess the other thing is that with medical advances being made all the time, who's to say that the cord blood is going to be essential?
There may be other options available to manage different diseases...

It is a tricky one, as most 'insurance' type decisions are...you're paying for the security whether you end up needing to use it or not...