Umbilical Cord Banking

[Sugarcoma]

Has anyone done it or considered doing it privately? (Am not referring to the general NHS umbilical bank, which I'm also aware of).

All the articles I've found about it are quite a few years old and am wondering whether in the last few years, as science has improved, banking the baby's umbilical cord has actually proved useful to anyone or, as some suggest, it's a bit of a scam.

And if you have done it which company did you use? Most of the ones that come up on Google look a bit dodgy.

I looked at this before DD was born, but the cost was prohibitive and it seemed unnecessary. Sadly DD has since been diagnosed with leukaemia (blood cancer) and may require a stem cell transplant at some point in the future, depending on how chemotherapy goes. If I'd done cord banking she'd have a perfect match ready to use, but unfortunately that won't be an option for us if it comes to it.

However, I think the rate for getting leukaemia is something like 1 in 200,000 so my story is probably not very helpful. Also, many children with leukaemia don't need a stem cell transplant.

I'm so sorry to hear that Cheese

I also know someone whose DC has a very rare illness that could have benefited from stem cells which is what made me even think about it in the first place but the articles I've read pointed out that even if you did have the banked cord it may still not be the best option to use it because, in theory, it too would carry the leukaemia cells, for example, and there are other drawbacks too.

Wishing your daughter the best with her treatment

I looked into this but unfortunately neither the NHS or the private clinic I contacted would allow us to go ahead with it because I was having multiples.

No one could ever explain why. It was both frustrating and intriguing to me!

Problem with multiples is it coming from two different babies and mixing.

Private banking is very expensive and often con couples. To get stem cells from blood you need a fair amount of cord blood, private companies will save anything even tiny amounts and still charge the same amount and store t for you even if it is useless.

Nhs cord blood banking will actually be able to get your stored cord blood if you required it and it hadn't already been used. This is not advertised but is correct