Cord blood banking - any opinions / experiences?

[alicet]

My hubby and I are trying to decide whether we bank the cord blood of our baby when he is born incase he develops a disease where he needs it in the future. This is expensive (about £1200 give or take £200) and the odds of needing to use it have been quoted as between 1/1000 and 1/20000 but a part of me feels that I would find it very hard to cope knowing I didn't do it if he DID need it. Then I get angry that these companies are playing on my paranoia!!!

We really don't know what to do - does anyone have any experience of this?

I went onto the Parents Guide website and alot of the cord blood companies like Virgin and Smart Cells actually use a third party company in Plymouth to do store the cells - they're called www.bio-vault.co.uk - I don't know whether they store for parents directly tho;-)

Suzy

I chose not to do this because I had read it was incompatible with delayed cord clamping, which has immediate benefits for the baby - does anyone know whether this is true?

BertieBotts - since getting on this thread I've ordered my kit with Smart Cells, and they've introduced me to my phlebotomist and everything is sorted. I intend to wait until the cord has stopped pulsating and also the phlebotomist is going to take the cord blood after the delivery of the placenta. Smart cells told me that this is normal and many of the parents choose to do this. I suppose only time will tell (ds or dd coming in dec) but we're gonna give it a go and hope for the best. good luck with your decision.

Hi All,

I raised this subject on another thread but didn't really get a response...so am happy that someone has raised this and there are so many replies.... Can anyone recommend a company for me or should I just search the web? I want to do this for peace of mind. Right now there is being loads of scientific studies into this and Michael J Fox is heavily into this study and hopes that one day they may find a cure for Parkinsons and other diseases... I just wanted to ensure that I had an option if the chips were down... as I would kick myself if this small act could be an option to saving my children (goush, do I sound over dramatical!). But of course, it may not materialize to anything but I can't let an opportunity go

Let me know, thanks
Cindy

Cindy - I don't know if its too late, but there's another thread that I've posted on and there are a few companys mentioned on there. I chose Smartcells and I highly recommend them, but you should tottaly make your own choice.

here's the other thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childbirth/845350-Cord-Blood-Banking

and also check out:
parentsguidecordblood.org

good luck!

I really wanted to donate to the NHS cord blood bank but Salisbury hospital isn't one of the ones doing it. I read somewhere that if stem cells are needed there is a much greater chance of cells from the nhs bank being a match than your own privately stored ones, which put me off storing privately. Really wish this was a truly national storage problem offered by every hospital.

meant program, not problem!

I am hoping to have the cord blooded collected when my daughter gives birth late summer but i read ina brochure that, God forbid , the child ever had cancer then the cord blood cannot be used as it may cantain pre cncerous cells , so i am wondering if it worth doing , very confused granny to be ,thanks for any advice

Hi all, thank you for sharing your views on this subject. As it's been 8 years now since the last comment was published in this thread, I would really appreciate if you could share more recent opinions/experiences.

I am 34 weeks pregnant with my first child and my husband and I have already decided that we are definitely going to go ahead with the private cord blood banking. The only thing left is to decide which company to choose. At the moment I am hesitating between Cells4Life and Smart cells. Both are of course trying to prove that they are the best and keep telling me they do smth very valuable that another cord blood bank does not. So a lot of marketing chat! :)

I would be very grateful if you could kindly share any experiences you or your friends had with the private cord blood banks as I really don't know which one to go with.

I am planning to give birth in St Thomas' hospital, London. My midwife said that gathering the cord blood shouldn't be a problem as it is quite common these days. However she assumed that the cord blood bank will send the private phlebotomist to gather the material and it won't be one of the midwives doing this. I am comfortable with this and happy to pay extra money for the phlebotomist rather than worry that the midwife does not do it correctly.

Also, do you have any views on whether it is also worth storing the cord tissue and/or placenta tissue? Current research is mainly focused on the stem cells extracted from the cord blood but potentially cord/placenta tissue could be of value in future as well...

Many thanks in advance!

Full disclosure, I work for the organisation which put the guide below together. I'm also a fairly regular mumsnetter and hope that it proves useful.

www.hta.gov.uk/guidance-public/cord-blood-banking-guide-parents