Lexi @ Birth
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Hmmm....To bank baby's Cord Blood or Not?
5/20/09- I am now 24 weeks/6 mos and I am still undecided as to whether or not we should bank the baby's cord blood. We didn't with Austin, but it was still so new at that time, honestly I didn't even spend much time researching it. I am so torn on this for a couple of reasons and would love any feedback. In doing research recently, I have looked into both private cord blood banking as well as public cord banking. If you bank with a private cord blood bank, they are less regulated and should you need to use the cord blood for either for the child itself or another family member, the dr. is less likely to use it since it is from a private bank and not as regulated therefore, not at the same "standards" as the public cord bank. However, if you bank at a public one that means it is up for ANYONE to use and the likelihood of you being able to use your own child's cord blood is slim to none. Then you have the fact of what if it is the child of the cord bank that needs the cord blood....because the cord blood holds the same make up of the child's blood, they most likely wouldn't use his/her own cord blood as it most likely wouldn't fight off what it needed to as it was the "carrier". So is it that you pay this $2000 up front fee plus the annual fee of around $125 and then can't even use the cord blood? Of course, just like any insurance plan, you pay all this money and may never have to use it, but that is not the part that I am concerned with...it is the fact that we would possibly pay all this money and then may not even be able to use "our" cord blood, so is it a scam? Anyone have any thoughts and/or information on what you have researched about this topic?
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Oh, what a struggle. All I have read, I have been totally sold on this idea. I HAVE NOT heard that your cord blood at a public blood bank can be used by anyone. This is infuriating and gives me a solid 100% no. Not that I am not for helping others. I would be paying into this system for the sole purpose of protecting my child and I want that 100% guaranteed. Not a percentage less. It would seem more research needs to go into this decision and perhaps why you can't make the decision yet. Do you know anyone who has banked? You may have to rely on personal testimony at this point. As do I. How heartbreaking. If only stem cell research was allowed...Hopefully soon!
ReplyDeleteI would have to say no. If you put all that money in and it was help just for your needs that is one thing, but I can't see investing all that and then having it be available to whom ever. Maybe in a couple of years they system will be better. With all this technology you know in a short amount of time it will all just change again!!!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've reserached, you need to be careful how the blood is 'harvested' from the cord. There's a reason the blood is in there...the baby needs it! There's a delicate balance that the baby and your body/placenta need to figure out...if the baby gets too much or too little blood (e.g. the cord is cut too soon and still 'pulsing' or the cord is cut while the baby is held higher/lower than your uterus) then it could have negative effects for her.
ReplyDeleteMy personal opinion is that there isn't a good enough system out there yet. I'm not planning on banking the blood for our little girl. Plus if your baby ends up needing the blood later due to some genetic-related condition...well, isn't it going to be in the original cord blood anyway? So is that really helping anyone??