Cord Blood Storage

**new mum to be** · 27-06-2006 15:13

Hi all,

I am a soon to be mum and am looking into private cord blood cell storage is there anyone out there with info, experience on this?

It is a bit costly and I would like to have some feedback from people other than the storage companies.

New mum to be.

**Cheeky Little Monkey** · 28-06-2006 21:18

I privately banked. PM with your questions and I will be happy to share any information.

**Vespera** · 28-06-2006 21:40

We are planning on doing ours with Cell Sense see www.cellsense.com.au

They have payment plans which allow you to pay - all at once, a deposit and then the rest when you get your parenting payment, 3 month payment plan and 6 month payment plan.

If you contact them they will send out HEAPS of information for you to decide.

**bingo** · 29-06-2006 08:30

We looked at all three companies. The best thing we did was a little table to compare all the different factors and in the end we went with cryosite. The reason we went with them was that if the collection wasn't successful then we got our money back, where I think from memory the others took a considerable %. Also Cryosite were the only company TGA approved which means they have a lot of quality systems in place to ensure your babies sample is properly stored. Cryosite was more costly but in the outcome the collection wasn't successful it was the cheapest. A lot of collections aren't successful for many reasons so you need to be prepared for that. In saying that ours was successful. Good luck with your decision

.

**Adria** · 28-07-2006 18:49

I'm just wondering if anybody wants to give a rough costing figure. Is there also yearly fees to pay?

**Vespera** · 21-08-2006 02:47

Its about $3000 for 18 years. No other fees.

At the end of 18 years the blood becomes your childs property and they can decide if they want to pay some more money to keep it in storage.

**~Emmylou~** · 21-08-2006 08:20

Does anyone know if the blood is available for use by siblings (if compatable) or only for the child from which it's collected??
(sorry to hijack thread btw

)

**Minke** · 21-08-2006 09:04

We were told that it could be, of course it depends on whether your children are a match.

**sleeplessnights** · 15-09-2006 14:57

I also stored my son's cord blood 15months ago with Cryosite. I sent away for all the information and made the decision that Cryosite provided the best service and were also licensed by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration. They were really professional and helpful through the process and the whole collection went off without a hitch. Hopefully we won't need to use it but I like to know it is there if we do.

**bingo** · 24-09-2006 11:53

I finally found my comparison table of the three companies we looked at. Cryosite, Biocell and Cellsence. Keep in mind that these figures are from early 2005.
Total Cost (collection and storage for 18 years):
Cryosite $4000
Biocell $3145
Cellsense $2895
Refund in the event of failure to collect:
(this is difficult as Biocell and Cellsense have 4 reasons you can't collect. Cellsense are straightforward)
Cryosite $3700 (for any reason)
Biocell inability to collect $1495, insufficient volume $1795, storage failure $2045, process failure $2495
Cellsense(in same order) $495, $745, $1195, $1895
Courier Charge
Cellsense $included in price
Biocell $P.O.A
Cellsense $80-250 depending upon city or country

As you can see we found that Cryosite had the best refund policy. And as collection is hit or miss that helped us make our decision. Also, Cryosite was the only GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) approved company and TGA approved company which assured us that our valuable product would be cared for.
Hope this info helps someone out there as we found it all confusing when we were looking.