Okay parents and other interested parties…
Storing cord blood for the stem cells. What I have learned:
$2000 for initial collection, plus $125/year, for a total cost at age 21 of around $4600 (assuming the yearly fee remains fixed).
Estimated 1 in 2,700 chance of being useful to the child in the treatment of some illness, 1 in 1,400 chance of being useful to a family member. Even if it were useful, it is not assured that there wouldn’t be other treatments available that are just as effective. American Academy of Pediatrics cites these statistics, and says it can’t recommend storing cord blood.
Embryonic stem cells are more versatile in their use, but cord blood stem cells are less likely to be rejected by the host.
There’s a long list of diseases that are currently treatable with cord blood stem cells, though I don’t know that our family has a history of any of them.
Discuss.
We wanted to donate our cord blood for research, but there are no facilities that take it anywhere in Georgia.
I wondered about that. Ah well.
Is that true? That’s crazy, isn’t it?
cord blood
I would have done it if it were an option. (You can’t do it on multiples (twins, trips, etc). Yes it is expensive, but if my child were afflicted with something that could be treated with the cord blood, I would consider it $4600 well spent. Even on the potential to save somebody else’s kid. We still have embryos left from IVF and even if we never use them for future pregnancies, I will still pay the storage fee forever in the event the genetically similar embryonic cells become useful for my babies or family members in treating disease. Religously oriented folks, say what you will…
You don’t have to have an in-state facility to donate to. ViaCord and CBR are the 2 companies we see used most often. I think it is CBR that will let you donate/ bank at a fraction of the cost (if not free) if you put the cord blood in the national bank, meaning anyone could use it, and I believe you can still portion off some specifically for just your child. We collect it at the time of birth and the company usually has a courier there within hours to transport it to the right facility.
Let me make a plea for your doctors though– if you get one of the kits, please do not get the one that uses multiple syringes to collect the blood. In my view this is dangerous and useless and you aren’t getting what you are paying for. Get the kits that have the IV bag already attached to the tubing with a sheathed needle at the end. They are much safer and easier to use, even in a c-section, and you will get more blood collected.
Re: cord blood
How odd that you can’t do it on multiples… I would think it would be easier what will all those umbilical cords lying around.
It’s all in how you perceive the odds? 1 in 2,700 isn’t too bad, considering the severity of “losing” that game. I guess we’ll think it over while we’re at the beach.
I think Viacord uses the bag, does it not? That’s what it seems from the brochure we got.