Cord Blood - Leesburg,VA

we also used Viacord, not cheap but great service -- I have one friend who called to set it up and then went into labor that night, and they couriered the collection stuff to her at the hospital in time for the birth (usually you want to give the process several weeks if you can....). they make it pretty easy to get it done.

honestly, it just feels like a bit of an insurance policy for your kids' health. and while there are no guarantees, the likelihood of a match for siblings is pretty high, too, so for us, when we found out that we were having identical twins as kids #2 and 3, it seemed like a no-brainer to at least bank one kid's blood.

as for the poster who said that you should wait before clamping the cord, we did. you can wait several minutes and still have enough blood for collection. I'm all about natural birth and letting the cord stop pulsing and immediate skin contact and nursing, and I still say, let science do its thing when it can without interfering! :)

good luck with #2!

K.

We used Viacord also and have been very pleased so far. I choose Viacord because in addition to storing the cord blood they also perform research. The process couldn't have been easier. It is costly, but with all the advances in medical care, we thought it best to save our only child's cord blood. Good luck.

We donated our son's cord blood for research. We couldn't afford to bank it but didn't want to "waste" it either. I can't remember the name of the company but they send the kit and instructions for free. I had to call the number when I went into labor and called again after my son was born and then sent a courier to pick it up that afternoon.

When we looked into it, it was quite expensive. Seems like a great idea, but the health infrastructure hasn't caught up with it yet. Good luck!

Please, please, please do NOT bank the cord blood. That blood and all of the rich stem cells belong to your baby. You should delay clamping and cutting the cord until the cord has stopped pulsing. It is a much easier transition to life outside the womb for the baby if you let the cord pulse out. They do not have to breathe right away and it gives the baby's body time to start functioning. Please research delayed cord clamping and learn about all the beneficial effects.

Lisa

You should do a search on this site for "cord blood." There have been several topics recently regarding it. We banked our first child's with Viacord, and that's been fine, but with our second baby we donated it to the National Cord Blood registry. To donate it, your hospital has to be a collection site, but it's free and you may be able to help someone else. Chances are, if you or your children ever need it, there will still be plenty for them. The difference is -if you go with a private company -you'll have to pay and there's a yearly charge. However, you'll be sent a kit to give to your doctor and nurse regardless of where you deliver, and they'll collect it and send it. Of course it's always exclusively at your disposal as well and cannot be "shared" with anyone else.

I think it's a wonderful thing to do. If you can afford it and want to -go ahead and bank it privately, but I was happy to donate it. It's rare to find a match and hopefully no one in my family will ever need it, but maybe it can help someone else. As I said -they usually don't use the entire supply if it is a match for someone, so it would probably always be there for your family if needed. They're discovering more every day that can be done with stem cells and stem cells from cord blood.