Cord Blood

Cord Blood is saved to preserve stem cells. These cells can be reproduced and have been found VERY helpful in curing diseases in children like luekemia. Because the cells are banked and come directly from the person who going to use them, they are a perfect match. There is a 50/50 chance that other family members may also be able to use the stem cells. Scientists say that the future uses of Cord Blood will greatly increase with time. The downside- Banking Cord Blood is expensive. I think we paid around $2000 to bank it with a reputable company, and then pay $110 anually to keep it banked. It can be saved for up to 18 years, and maybe longer. Some research shows that these kind of cells will be helpful in curing some neurological problems like Alzheimer's, but I don't know of anything like that yet.

Hope this helps!
B.

Are you pregnant and deciding whether or not to store? Wasn't too sure in your question. If you are, here goes. Cord blood storage has been going on for a few years, but is finally more widely known about. My boys are 7 & 5. While pregnant with both, my doctor said little about it. I wish I had banked their blood. It's like an "insurance policy" for the future. If your child ends up with a terrible disease, what better cure than their own blood?! There are 2 major companies that bank - CBR and Viacord. They both have websites and numbers to call and ask questions. There is also groups working on public banking for those that cannot afford banking, but need the blood.
Hope this helps a little.
K.

N.,

I have a friend who is a doctor that does the research and works with kids that have cancer, mainly those with leukemia. So I asked him about what to do with our the cord blood, since we are expecting our second in about 6 weeks. He stated that currently they can not say yes or not that stem cells cure neurological problems. At this point in time they are not allowed to mark the cells because when they did, it may have caused other kinds of cancer. Not the stems cells, but what they used to mark them. He is not against banking it for yourself, but feels that it will have the most impact if donated. If you child ends up with leukemia and has a sibling that matches, as long as the sibling is at least 2 they prefer to use bone marrow rather than cord blood. Also they do not use cord blood that is more than 10 years old, at this time. For us we are donating to a public bank. You can contact MD Anderson if you are interested in doing that. I hope that helps. Good luck.

check out the CBR (cord blood registry) website. there has been some incredible outcomes with the use of cord blood. that particular company is the one i would use myself if i were going to bank cord blood. good luck.

I am 22 weeks pregnant and have researched cord blood some. From what I can tell it is worth the cost. We do not have any of the family history indicating a need; however, my grandmother was adopted so I don't have complete family history. Even if I had her history and there was no indication, I would still spend the funds (there is financing with VIACORD) and you don't pay until the cord is retrieved. It seems that right now the research is somewhat limited in the use of the cells; however, if you are one of the very few who need the cells for your child, if you don't have it you will always wonder whether the cord cells could have saved your child's life. My cousin and a close friend died from acute leukemia and stem cells could have helped them. There are several leukemia strains that a use a bone marrow transplant to treat/cure. If you have the stem cells, it could save your child's life. I see it like insurance, let's hope you don't ever have to use it, but if you do, you will be glad you did. The only company I researched is Viacord. It is a large corporation, publicly traded so it sounds stable??? Does anyone know of other companies? I need to lock in the price today or tomorrow because Viacord's prices are going up April 1. You don't have to pay anything right now to lock the price.

I used CBR to register my sons cord blood. Before hand I tried to look up everything on it. If you contact them and ask for an information packet it should give you all of the information you need. Here is their web site. We decided on them because they are not where they can get hit by a hurricane, not where if we needed it they would be snowed in and unable to get it to us, and had the best location for us. They are wonderful and have a program where you can get a year free storage for referrals. So here is the link good luck. http://www.cordblood.com/

If you want I am having a baby and we can swap referrals to get a free year of storage;)

From what I've read. The benefits of cord blood banking are still mostly in the works. There is anecdotal evidence of near miracles, but so far it is mostly just that.
I guess that at this point, the cord blood is given as a transfusion and the cells just know what to do. They are still figuring it out. In my opinion, it is worth it if you can afford it, especially if you know there is a history of genetic illness.

I trust Viacord! We have 2 children and we banked the cord blood for both of them. They are always developing new research and cures. They are currently working on a cure for the common disease of diabetes. You can bank the blood for up to 25 years. The cord blood is not only good for the child but siblings, parents or grandparents. It has to be in the childs direct bloodline but depending on the disease it can be used by anyone of these people. I would suggest you just call them and they will be more than happy to assist you and send you an information packet. If you do decide to bank with them tell them E. Chu sent you from Friendswood. Each time you refer someone they send you Cash as a thanks.
E.

I don't think it helps neurological issues (I have four children with autism, I would have been saving their chords if I thought it might help!)

There is no guaranty that if you bank the blood that it will ever be of use for your child(ren). There are a few things that it can be used for right now, but again those uses are limited. Stem cells can also be harvested from adult's blood.