Did you save the cord blood?

Traci - posted on 07/10/2009

Quoting Allison:

Traci, the initial collection fee is expensive, there's no doubt about that. But now that we've paid that off, we pay an annual fee of $125. If it were $100/month I don't think we would have done it either.

Oh!  Okay, maybe I just read it wrong or something...I don't know.  Yeah, I think it would be totally worth it for 125 a year.  That I could definitely do, but not 100 a month.  Maybe if we have another I'll look into it again....

Thanks!

Traci - posted on 07/10/2009

Quoting Allison:

Traci, the initial collection fee is expensive, there's no doubt about that. But now that we've paid that off, we pay an annual fee of $125. If it were $100/month I don't think we would have done it either.

Oh!  Okay, maybe I just read it wrong or something...I don't know.  Yeah, I think it would be totally worth it for 125 a year.  That I could definitely do, but not 100 a month.  Maybe if we have another I'll look into it again....

Thanks!

Sara - posted on 07/10/2009

Quoting Jenifer:

I didn't bother, though I did look into it. It seemed that it was a huge expense, with very little promise of actually being useful. I think you're right, Sharon, that the science and current capabilities are often exaggerated when these companies are trying to make a sale. I also worried that if we went that route, his cord might be cut too early, and my CNM recommended waiting to cut the cord to allow the baby get as much of that blood as possible into his circulatory system.

I totally agree, we couldn't afford it.  I thought about donating it, but that would have cost money to us as well. Wish I would have been given the option to sign a waiver...I wasn't.

Cathy - posted on 07/10/2009

Nobody asked and it never occurred to me that I might want to, don't think it's common in the UK.

Esther - posted on 07/10/2009

Quoting Jennifer:

I didn't save mine, but I did sign a waiver at the hospital to donate it to medical research.

I did too.

Allison - posted on 07/10/2009

Traci, the initial collection fee is expensive, there's no doubt about that. But now that we've paid that off, we pay an annual fee of $125. If it were $100/month I don't think we would have done it either.

Charlie - posted on 07/10/2009

i wanted to but for some reason the hospital had no where to store it at the time.

Traci - posted on 07/10/2009

I didn't save mine, I wanted to, but it was $1000 to start off and $100 a month to store it. It sounds bad, but I could use that money for other things, you know? If you look at all the advancements that have been made in medicine since our parents were small, just think of what cord blood could bring! Wish I could have done it....



I think that's cool that you signed a waiver to donate it to research. I would have done that. I like the idea of them using cord stem cells rather than embryonic ones. I'm not okay with the latter....

~Jennifer - posted on 07/09/2009

I didn't save mine, but I did sign a waiver at the hospital to donate it to medical research.

Allison - posted on 07/09/2009

We did bank the cord blood and yes, it was expensive. But, I view as an insurance policy for her health. We did not bank it with organ regeneration in mind. I was thinking more along the lines of diseases that can be 'treated' and maybe cured. Leukemia, Cerebral Palsy, Ovarian Cancer, brain tumors, rheumatoid arthiritis.. the list goes on and on. I pray that we never have to use it but I have no regrets at the investment. This can also be used in the event a sibling gets ill. And it's a one shot deal. It's not as if there is a large quantity that can be used over and over. If we use it to treat Leukemia today, that's it. There's not enough left to do anything with. So, I don't feel that we are playing God with this process. We are reserving something that came from her to begin with. I pray that we never have to use it but I am thankful that it is there, if we need it.

Christa - posted on 07/09/2009

No I'm not into it at all. I'm all for advances in science, but sometimes I feel like people get carried away trying to be God.

JL - posted on 07/09/2009

I hear nothing about this when I had my first child but I found out about it with my second so I looked into to it and really thought about it but the cost and the uncertainity about the benefits lead me to say no.

Sapphire - posted on 07/09/2009

We also opted 'no' but I also looked inot the cord blood banking. My mom & brother had kidney transplants. Now my little sister is on dialysis and will need a transplant soon. As for me, I'm too chicken shit to go to the doctor, for my own health. But even growing organs in a lab does not make these organs viable for transplantation. It jsut means for now, science is able to grow a liver or kidney but then they don;t know what to do with it.

?? - posted on 07/09/2009

I looked into a bit when I found out I was pregnant because cancer runs in my family and the cord blood can "hold the cure" lukemia, cancers, rare organ diseases etc they can all be "cured" by the cord blood tissues... it was EXTREMELY expensive and there has been many cases where despite all the measures taken, it didn't help or it was misplaced or used by someone else. So we opted no.

Cathelijn - posted on 07/09/2009

I looked into it but they told me I had to sort out where to store it myself and the storage in like a hospital lab is really expensive... It is not like you can stick it in your own freezer is it??

Jenifer - posted on 07/09/2009

Actually, artificial organs aren't all that far off - maybe within 10 to 15 years according to some researchers in that field. They grew an artificial liver a few years back in a lab in the UK:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...

Still, I wasn't sold on the idea of cord blood banking, but there's certainly lots of interesting medical research going on using those stem cells.

Esther - posted on 07/09/2009

I didn't because it was so expensive. I did think about it and requested some information. I hope to god I will never come to regret it.

Amie - posted on 07/09/2009

No. Never even thought about it. It's just one of those things, while very important to others, isn't for me and my family. It seems society though keeps trying to push new ways to get us to live longer and longer. There seems to be this imminent fear of death. So let's keep trying to find ways for us to keep on ticking.
Grown organs? Well I dunno, if it is ever perfected I can't see it being in my life time. Who knows though, we are advancing at a much faster pace these last 100 years or so than any before us.

Jenifer - posted on 07/09/2009

I didn't bother, though I did look into it. It seemed that it was a huge expense, with very little promise of actually being useful. I think you're right, Sharon, that the science and current capabilities are often exaggerated when these companies are trying to make a sale. I also worried that if we went that route, his cord might be cut too early, and my CNM recommended waiting to cut the cord to allow the baby get as much of that blood as possible into his circulatory system.

Lindsay - posted on 07/09/2009

I honestly don't know enough about it. I did not save the cord blood from either pregnancy.