Cord blood banking - any experience / opinions?

[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 don't know why they charge for it, personally i think they should collect if for nothing and if you don't need it give it to someone else who does, therefore don't charge. but seems as they do, i personally can't afford prices like that and most other families probably can't and the likely hood is anyways that you won't need it. i was very paranoid about loads of things when i was pg with dd, especially dirt (the walls in our house are painted and my hormones told me to wash the walls so i did!) i don't think it helps when companies play on this, to me it's a money making scheme. but i might be completely wrong. sorry i'm not too good on giving advice but i try to anyway!

I also think it's bad that companies play on your emotions - especially at a time when they are running so high!!

If I could afford to do it I definately would as I think that if it is effective in the way that is claimed then it is an amazing an possibly life saving/changing thing and I also have it in the back of my mind how terrible I would feel if a situation arose that could be helped cures by these cells and we hadn't done it.

I've had loads of conversations with dp about it because I think that something like this should be automatically done when each baby is born but dp argues that it would cost too much when you think about how many babies are born every hour.... I still disagree when you think about how much money is wasted on crap in this country but that's a different thread!!

I'd say if you can afford to do then then go for it

it's becoming very commonplace in Canada and the Us now. If we couldn ahve afforded it, we would have done it. my sister and brother have both done it recently for their babies

Thanks for your comments! If we decide to go for it i'll let you know how we get on....