We're pretty sure we want to bank our baby's cord blood. Any BTDT moms who have already done this? Who is the best? Who should we go with? Any links or advice would be helpful. TIA!

Hello,
My DH and I decided to bank our baby's cord blood. Even though he is not due until December we registered ahead with CBR. They recommend you register in your second trimester, to avoid any delays. We did a lot of research on cord blood banking and on the companies that do it. You have to think when you choose a company about their finical stability. You do not want to pay all this money and your company, goes bankrupt. Also another thing to think about is where do they store it? You should think about natural disasters, what if's should be considered. CBR stores theirs in Arizona, where as most companies store theirs on the east coast. Then you need to consider the technique they use to collect it. What if you need to use some of it, will it all be used or will some still be accessible. With CBR it will. Some companies store them in tubes, some in vacuum sealed bags. Last thing I think even one should consider is the accessibly to your specimen should you need it, after all that is why you stored it, right?

www.cordblood.com

Can anyone provide us their review or feedback of the various cord blood banks in Canada? We are trying to make a decision on which company to use. Thank you

A friend of mine from Toronto banked her baby's cord blood, but with with a U.S. company because of their experience. It is a life-long relationship with a company, so going with one where you feel stability is high on their list of priorities makes sense.

It's just as easy to use a cord blood bank in the U.S. if they will handle the shipping. My friend went with cord blood registry.

Best of luck,
JS

I'm confused about which company to go with. Any FACTS or informed opinions you have about Viacord or CBR appreciated!

I am planning on donating cord blood, not personal banking. We are going through cryobanks international (www.cryo-intl.org) they have a lot of information about both public and private banking and are part of the National Marrow Donation Association.

Does anyone have any comments or opinions on cord blood banking? We're are looking into Vista Cord.?

All the cord blood banks have similar claims. Vista Cord seems really reasonable. We're wondering if anyone has heard anything about them or have any suggestions on who they would recommend.
It's overwhelming to try and pick the right one. Another cord blood bank we are looking into is NeoCells. Does anyone have any experience with them?

We are planning on using Vista Cord for our child. A friend at work told me her ob-gyn referred her to them and she used them for her twins and was very happy. We haven't signed up yet but our due date isn't until July.

-Claudia

My friends and I are having a competition debate on the sales of cord blood. We'd like to know your opinion, either negative, positive, or both sides of what you think about selling cord blood. We'd appreciate your answers greatly! Thanks for your opinion and time.

When I got pregnant, I decided to bank the cord blood for my children for medical reasons. My father-in-law died of leukemia at the age of 53. So I definitely wanted to bank cord blood for my kids.

I used CBR (Cord Blood Registry) both times. Their service was great. Both times their medical courier picked up the kit from my room one hour after my delivery. The next day CBR emailed me to inform me that my baby's cord blood was successfully banked. I view it as an insurance for my children. So glad that I did it.

Here is the pricing information for CBR:
http://www.cordblood.com/cord_blood_ban ... mestic.asp
CBR's price is very close to Viacord, actually a little lower. Both are around $2000 to start with, and $125 a year afterwards. Coupon code M9999 saves you $250 when you enroll with CBR (www.cordblood.com)

CBR is the biggest private bank for cord blood. Viacord is the second largest. I wouldn't go to any smaller cord banks. Need a bank with stability. Cryo-cell is a lot cheaper, but they store all the cord blood in St. Petersburg, FL.Won't be any good if hurricane comes.

Banking cord blood is a great thing, but it is not cheap. I am sure more people would have done it if were not for the high cost.

More about banking cord blood at
http://parentsguidecordblood.org/
This is an awesome website, they provide unbiased views on banking cord blood.

If you could afford it, I would say go for it. If money is an issue, do not worry about it. You can always donate it to benefit others. But at least please donate it if you are not going to bank!

A little more of my personal stories:

The reason that I wanted to bank cord blood for my kids was because my father-in-law died of Leukemia. (He died within 6 months after the initial symptom emerged, and he was only 53 years old) Even though I know it does not get passed to the next generation, I was still scared to death. So no matter how much it cost, I had to do it.

My father-in-law did have bone marrow transplant. No one in the family was a full match. The closest match they could find for him in the nation was 5/6 match. Doctors gave him the option: he could choose to die in a few months, full of pain, or he could try the bone marrow transplant, with about 30% chance of survival. He decided that he was too miserable going through the chemo therapy everyday, so he betted on the transplant. It was not a full match, and it failed. He left us for ever a week after the transplant. I keep on wondering whether he could have survided if he had a full match.

I'm 21 weeks pregnant with twins. my husband and i were looking into cord blood banking and i was wondering what other's thought about it. my doctor said that if the child gets a disease that the stem cells in the cord blood would already be bad. would it make more sense to just wait and if something does happen, just get pregnant again and bank that child's cord blood? would you have it done? have you had it done? if not, why? thanks!

I think its a good idea...as far as waiting and then getting pregnant again..it could be too late by the time you have the baby to do any good. My husband went for an MRI saturday and has an EEG tomorrow to make sure he doesnt have a tumor or something in his brain (hopefully its just residual effects from a accident he had years ago) but we already know that if he does have something bad that the baby i'm pregnant with could save his life...i'm having him in 16 days and if the scans show something in my husband we're going to bank his cord blood so my husband could hopefully be treated. i'm all for it honestly. i've heard lots of stories about how its saved siblings lives!

Give me advise on Cord Blood Registry kit (CBR) for second child.do I need this for both children?

Here is the deal. We got the first child this Cord (embellical cord) Blood Registry kit. Basically, it freezes the childs embelical cord blood with the stem cells.incase she would need some organ later in life she could have these stem cells formed into whatever.

So.my wife wants this for the second child as well.They told her it is DNA related and that needs to match.however, a sibling could also use the others stem cells with a less successful rate. I just can't buy that info.it just sounds to me like they're trying to sell us some more stem cells.

Here is my question (s): Aren't stem cells interchangeble.regaurless of who they came from? Does the DNA really affect the success rate of stem cells?

My theroy behind these observations are simple. The debate to stem cell research was spond from scientist wanting to farm embreos.so that tells me that DNA has little or nothing to do with stem cell success.RIGHT?
Sorry for the long explanation.

However, I need proof / facts or scientific evidance in order to make this argument to my wife.links are welcome. I just feel like it's a line of BS that we need to do this because of the DNA match.
to the first answer: There are litterally millions of stem cells in this blood.I mean to be exact we got 183 million from the first childs cord blood.so I heard that one stem cell can be formed to create whatever is needed.

You should do it for both.
God forbid if your family eve needs a transfusion there has to be a match.

I know for bone marrow 70% of people are not able to find a match in their own family. One sibling's cells are not necessary going to help another.

There are literally millions upon millions of possible genetic combinations your wife and you are able to create. Siblings are often the best hope, but never a guarantee.

Has anyone done this with the baby cord blood? Also anywhere where they have cheaper payments than like 60 bucks for it?!?!

I have looked online for places that have cheaper rates and haven't come across any yet. You can sign up for donating the cord blood at least there it goes to a good cause instead of being wasted.

Personally, there is no research on how long cord blood can last before it "goes bad." Yes, it's being frozen, but have you ever heard of doctors being able to use cord blood that was frozen for over 10 years? AND if something is wrong with the preseveration process, what's to say they won't refund your $$ that you paid the past year? 2 years? 5 years? 10 years?