Cord Blood Storage, Have you Done it? feedback

[JenL]

Just wanting feedback on companies and also hear experiences. This is something we really want to do, but I am unsure on who to go with.

Any advice would be welcome:)

[RedPanda]

Yes, my son (born in April) has his cord blood stored. We used Stem Life and I wasn't disappointed. It was pretty simple. They sent me out a kit at about 34 weeks, and it had info for my doctor. When I was in labour, I took the kit, the doctor took the blood after birth and we rang Stem Life to come and get it. The sample was pretty good (98.5 per cent of the collection was viable stem cells), and they send you a report on the blood.

In my research I considered letting the cord stay until it stopped pulsing, and you can do this with cord blood collection but your collection will be small and may not be viable. I am pleased with my decision. Best case scenario is that my son will never need to use his blood, but it's a good insurance policy. I don't regret it, and if I have another child I'll do it again. I chose Stem Life because they had no gimicks. Some of the companies offer you free toys or portacots if you go with them, but that leaves an icky feeling with me. We're talking about human blood products, I'm not buying a car!! Stem Life were straightforward and I liked that.

It costs around $3000 and some companies let you wait until you get the baby bonus before paying. I paid upfront because they give you a small discount if they get payment before the birth. I was kept in the loop every step of the way. As soon as the blood was safely frozen, they rang to tell me.

[mandymum2b]

Hi there
Communal cord blood banking is very worthwhile (ie donating cord blood to a central bank) BUT, having discussed this with a paediatric haematologist/oncologist, private cord blood storage may not be all it's promoted as. Apparently there are issues with using your child's cord blood for their own future cancer/leukaemia, and often a matched donor transplant is preferable to using one's own cells. It is complicated, and probably best to discuss with your doctor before committing $3000+. :flowerz:

[Js Mum]

And I am so glad I did - I mean, as the first reply said, we hope we never have to use it, BUT in case we do - thank god we did as hubby & I are both the same blood type, but carry a rarer blood type gene as a recessive gene - and this is the blood type our bub ended up with, meaning if he ever needed a donation of anything, neither of us are compatible!!!

The 3 companies we looked at were Cell Sense, Biocell and Cryosite, before eventually going with Biocell - FANTASTIC service.

Our OB collected the sample, but if you dont have an OB that does it, they have a midwife that attends the final moments of you labour to take the cord blood donation.

The head of Biocell has also won heaps of awards and funding grants and is currently having what appears to be huge success with using stem cells in treating diabetes. They also are affiliated with an American based cord blood company that has been doing research for over 19 years - as they dont share this info as yet outside their own companies, we saw this as a huge plus as they have such a jump start on the other newer companies.

They also have different payment options, including payment afetr receipt of the baby bonus, payment via installments or full up front payment.

They also gave us all the test results, including like I said, bubs blood type - something you dont often find out until there's an emergency.

All companies store the vlood cells for 18 years under the initial payment, and then contact you after this to see whether you want to continue to store (an annual fee applies from this period on) - I liked Biocell's paperwork here where you actually list a 2nd point of contact (just in case you move and forget to update your records with them, they do have a 2nd contact - may not be an issue, but...)

Overall though, these companies all offered a very similar service.

Goodluck with your decision

[BreithCuidiu]

I used Cell Sense because the customer service was so fantastic. They also are one of the few companies whom put money toward research. The sample was excellent as was the post collection contact.

Cell Sense were the most cost effective company and they definitely gave us value for money (we called them constantly at the end of the pregnancy and after J was born)

[Pina Colada]

Hi there
Communal cord blood banking is very worthwhile (ie donating cord blood to a central bank) BUT, having discussed this with a paediatric haematologist/oncologist, private cord blood storage may not be all it's promoted as. Apparently there are issues with using your child's cord blood for their own future cancer/leukaemia, and often a matched donor transplant is preferable to using one's own cells. It is complicated, and probably best to discuss with your doctor before committing $3000+. :flowerz:

I chose Cell Sense, for all 3 of my births. I was happy with the company and the service. They offer a 15% discount for siblings so it cost $2500 for 2nd and 3rd rather than $3000. They offer all different payment plans, but we chose to pay upfront as we live in regional qld, and they waive the transport fees if you pay upfront and that saves another $200 odd.

We have always had people (including our obs) voicing their sceptisism about storing the cord blood, and the latest is the info about they may not be able to use the stem cells in case of a disease, as the cells may have the genetic markers of the disease already.

However, I did not make my decision based on today's research. I made my decision based on what the research may say in 5, 10, 15 years. Also, if one of my children is ill, and their own stem cells are not able to be used, there is a 25% greater chance of a siblings cells being compatible - so even if their own cannot be used, hopefully on of the other kids could be IYKWIM. I hope with all of my heart that I will never have to worry about EVER using them - but they are like an insurance policy to me.

Anyway, good luck with your decision.

[BreithCuidiu]

I know of people who have spent more on a new tv after having their baby. I get more satisfaction knowing that should science ever find a cure for my son's CF, and that cure involves his cord blood, that we will have made the right decision.

J was diagnosed long after his birth, and luckily we had stored his cord blood prior to diagnosis. Ot just might be that ray of hope.And Cell Sense have been really lovely. I call them whenever I need a question answered.

[GirlGerms]

We donated DD's... the way I see it is that if DD never needs it, I'd rather someone else get it... and if DD does get sick, then hopefully others will have done the same thing.

It disappointed me that desptie giving birth at the Mater, which is where Brisbane's collection centre is, I had to really work to make sure it actually happened.

[BreithCuidiu]

GirlGerms, the best possible match for stem cells is from the person's own cord blood. I considered donating, but I am really glad I stored J's.

The other thing is that unfortunately in most hospitals, if you don't give birth between 9am and 5pm, the donation cannot happen. The company we used, Cell Sense, had a collector on standby 24/7.

[socalmom]

We were bombarded by a lot of ads from Cord Blood Registry (CBR) and would have gone with them if we haven’t been aware of the availability of other banks. We decided to go with Family Cord Blood Services, a local bank headquartered in Los Angeles. Their cost was a lot more reasonable and affordable than CBR – more than $500 less and have all the proper licensing, accreditations and service levels. It is important for all the licensing and endorsements because you do want a lab that is safe and practicing along with the industry standards. We also felt better going with them because they’re owned by doctors and their lab and storage are all in the same location. One of the medical directors and co-founder is actually a leading cord blood expert and chairman of the cord blood banking industry.