Cord Blood Stem Cells Information

cord blood?

just wondering how many new parents went with cord blood banking, and if you did are you happy with your decision?

Public Comments

1. All parents are given the option to bank cord blood at the hospital I work in. I have not yet come across one that hasn't given consent. It is routine.
2. I did not bank it
3. I wrestled with this question on my own - my doctor nor anyone from the hospital even mentioned it to me. When I did ask them directly, they seemed a little uncomfortable with the idea. I guess because you are banking blood with the hopes that nothing goes wrong and if something does - with the hopes that science will have progressed enough to actually use the cord blood for whatever the issue is Right now, cord blood isnt a 100% cure for everything. The marketers of the cord blood places are really good at their jobs. I eventually chose not to bank the cord blood.
4. In florida, more specificly the Sarasota area, there is a program through the USF, the colloge, to donate the cord blood, and have use of it if anything ever does come up. It is free, and they use half for research and half is saved for your baby. I chose to do this because it may help someone else's little one, and if something were to happen to mine, I would have it. I can not afford to bank it, I simply don't have the money. So, this was a wonderful option for me. You may want to ask if a university near you has a similar program. They give you all kinds of paperwork, and you do get a garuntee that it will be there should you need it.
5. I did not bank my cord blood, but I wish that I had. I have recently discovered that there are private banks out there that are not that expensive. Even though a public cord blood bank will bank cord blood for free, you may not be able to use it for your baby if he/she or a sibling ever needs it. Check out this article about it: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/300718/public_cord_blood_banking_what_you.html