We’re expecting our first baby in about six weeks, and have gotten a lot of conflicting opinions on cord blood storage. Some people say it’s essential, others say it’s a total ripoff. I’m leaning toward doing it, since on the off chance she needs it, I’d feel like killing myself if I hadn’t done it. We are fairly well off, and I think we can handle the fees.
But, I do have some questions before making the final decision.
[ul][li]How often is such stored blood used?[/li][li]Is it more successful than other transplant sources like donated bone marrow?[/li][li]I’ve read that cord blood is useful for children and “young adults.” Does that mean till she’s 18 or so, or what?[/ul][/li]I also welcome any other information y’all think might be helpful.
Oh, I think it’s very useful. After a hard morning like today’s, there’s nothing that hits the spot like a cord blood omlette - thank goodness I stored my cord blood so it didn’t spoil!
Seriously, I don’t think anyone knows. This is fairly new territory. I say do it. You say you can afford it. Why not?
When giving kids braces first took off, there as a lot of talk about how bad bites contributed to dental and digestive problems… but no one really knew the extent to which a good bite contributed to overall health. Now, after years and years of kids with the same basic genetic package growing up and growing to middle-age with the only difference being braces, we know that a good bite makes a huge difference. Maybe we’ll discover all kinds of situations where having cord blood really tips the scales. Or, maybe we won’t. But better safe than sorry, eh?
Ok, here’s my experience with cord blood donation and storage.
I didn’t bank the cord blood from either of my children. It was incredibly expensive and I just wasn’t sure enough that they’d need it someday.
Instead, I donated it to a cord blood bank. That way, it would definetly get used, and later on if either of my children needed stem cells from cord blood, they would get it from the bank.
It was free to donate, and I hopefully helped someone. I also donated both placentas to a research project.
As far as factual info goes (in keeping with the forum guidelines!), I think it’s the stem cells in cord blood that are so valuable, not necessarily the blood itself. Stem cells are believed to be the ultimate medium for growing any type of mature cell, but their collection is extremely controversial.
I forget the percent but usually the blood isnt needed. However the rationale behind saving your childs own blood instead of donating it to a band and asking for some if you need it is with your own blood there is no chance of rejection, as there would be with someone elses blood. The odds are low but theoretically I believe saving it yourself could save your childs life.
LifeStor have most of the information about cord blood and its use. They say that there is 1 chance in 10,000 that it will be needed later in life. A while ago I saw a medical program about a family who used the T cells from their newborn’s cord to treat an older siblings blood disorder. The amazing thing was that the newborn had a different blood type. After the successful treatment the sibling’s blood type had changed to that of the baby.
It’s the stem cells from cord blood that are so valuable.
If you store the blood for your child’s use then the odds are low it will ever be used. You might consider that the money would be better spent on something else, like a college fund. The companies selling this service will, of course, hype the usefulness of it, but consider the source.
Natually, anyone who goes this route and their child does need the stem cells will think the money well spent. But how many will pay the monthly/yearly fee for years on end and never need it?
Also, not all diseases can be cured with cord blood. If a child has something like thalessemia or sickle cell you would NOT use their cord blood to treat the disease because the disease originates in the genes - and thus would be present in the stem cells. Such a cord blood specimen would, in fact, not be used by anyone.
If you donate the cord blood for general use it will almost certainly be used by someone and maybe save their life.
After thinking about it, I think we will donate the blood to a public bank (if that is possible where I’m delivering). If she ever needs a transplant, we can always go to a similar facility to find a donor, plus there is also the possibility of bone marrow donations and so forth. 1 in 10,000 is low enough that I think the money could be better spent for her other needs.