Cord blood bank

Kyla - posted on 11/04/2009

umm well We do not have the diseases in our family, BUT my mother at 45 yrs old found out she had cancer and she is the 1st in any of my family to EVER have cancer and I believe that any one can get cancer and it still not be in the family and now they are working toward parapalegics and so what if your child was in a car wreck. thats not a diseease that runs in families I mean there are many uses that do nat hvae to have a family hiswtory with.

Kyla - posted on 11/04/2009

different baks range in price but my ob told me to find the cheapest one bc they all do the same thing.. Umm Ours is $600 for 1st yr and the kit and all that you need and $90 every year. That was the cheapest so far and i was cryo-cell.. Thanks everyone soo much I just wanted to see what other moms thoughts were. this is our first child and as you said Jessica there is no price on saving a childs life.

Jenifer - posted on 10/30/2009

We didn't do it. First, it is too expensive, and second, it is almost never possible to us the banked cord blood. It might be worth it if your family has a history of metabolic disorders, leukemia, etc - things that are genetic and have proven therapies that involve stem cells - but not for the baby whole blood your banking, rather for siblings. And it can really only be used in childhood - the amount of cord blood collected is approximately about to treat someone under ~115lbs. Most of the things people thing it can be used for, it can't. I think companies that offer the service are mostly playing on parents' fears. That's why the AAP recommends against it (except in cases where it is being banked for an older sibling with a known disorder):

http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jan...

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cg...

Monica - posted on 10/30/2009

i think it's a great idea, especially if you have a family history of diseases that it can treat. We personally decided against it because of the cost, we just didn't have the funds to do it.

Ryann - posted on 10/30/2009

thank you!

Elle - posted on 10/29/2009

We were going to donate ours but were unable to due to delivery/c-section complications. We had looked into storage but decided it wasn't for us. The cost is about $1500 for the kit,tests,collection,shipping and 1 year of storage. Each additional year of storage is apx $300.

Ryann - posted on 10/29/2009

how much does it cost?

Jessica - posted on 10/29/2009

It's worth it. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma when I was 14. It is a cancer of the lymph nodes. I relapsed when I was 21 and had a stem cell transplant which probably saved my life. There are many ways in which stem cells can be used to cure diseases, many more still which have yet to be discovered. I used my own stem cells w/my transplant - a little different process than banking cord blood, but the same idea. I banked my daughters cord blood and I am very happy with my decision. I hope that she lives a long healthy life and I never ever need to use the cord blood for her, but I'm glad that I will not be in a position to never regret NOT having had it banked. I believe some banking companies have payment plans as low as 60-something dollars a month. If you can afford it at all, I would say go for it. I couldn't put a price on something that has the potential to save the life of someone I love.

Bekki - posted on 10/29/2009

It is very good to save in case your child needs a transfusion later in life, it can also be used to harvest stem cells for certain diseases. My niece was going to use mine to treat her Spinal Muscular Atrophy. It is a great thing to have just in case, you never know what life will bring and having your own blood stored for your own use or to be donated to stem cell research would be fantastic..

I say go for it!