Cord Blood Banking - Woodridge,IL

I looked at it as something that may potentially be helpful to my son...and I only had this one chance to act. My OB used Viacord to bank the cord blood of all three of his children and I used them as well. His position was there are a few uses for it now....we can only imagine how the door may open years from now and how it may benefit him/his family later down the road. Yes, the initial collection fee was not cheap but the annual storage fee is. Good luck with whatever you decide.

We decided not to do it since 1) even with public banking, our doctor charges a fee to collect the materials 2) we do not have a history is disease in the family, just heart attacks and heart disease which are largely caused by lifestyle. If you decide to it, I would do the public banking since its much cheaper and the only drawback is that other people who are matches can use the cord blood. But it works both ways, you can use other people's. Just check to see the fees involved. My doctor was pretty ambivalent about it.

I donated my last baby's cord blood through the National Marrow Donor program. I felt that it was highly unlikely that my children would benefit from the cord blood, but the possibility that someone else could use it was much higher. I have encouraged many friends to donate also, the more people that donate to a public bank the better chance for matches to be found, including for your children should they ever need it. The AAP discourages private banking and encourages public donation. Here is their statement and also more info about donation. You can see if your hospital is a participating hospital, it is free and an amazing public service.
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jan07cordblood.htm
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/agesandstages/i/cord_blood...
http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/i...
Good luck in your decision and the remainder of your pregnancy.

At my hospital here in NJ, they have a community cord bank that we have donated to each time. We plan on doing so again with our third child (due next month). Basically, the paperwork states that we are donating this material to the bank and that in the event of a need, a match would be made/found. It seems to work pretty much the way blood banking does.

I am thankful every day that we have not yet had to "test" out this system.

Good luck.
~C.

I work for A. Registry, a cord blood bank. Please look out for our upcoming Cord Advantage product launch that saves many more stem cells as compared to cord blood banking alone. Also, we have better pricing than most of our competitors. www.cordadvantage.com

Keep in mind that the current technology does not allow you to use your child's cord blood for that child (although you might be able to use it for a sibling in the future should they need it). I would see if your local hospital will allow you to donate the cord blood, which shouldn't cost anything (but many hospitals won't do it).

We used CBR for both our children - my Dad is an OB-GYN and recommended them. Their customer service is excellent, and while the upfront fee may be pricey (about $2K), there are financing options. We have history of cancer in our family and felt it was important to do, especially as stem cell technology continues to evolve. I would definitely do it - no regrets!

I can't speak highly enough of Cord Blood Registry. I have used them for both of my sons. Now, I don't have any family history, but I am a nurse and I know the things that can happen, and for me personally I didn't want to know that if one of my son's got something, then I could have possibly cured them by one decision. To me it was a no brainer, but not everyone can financially do it. And the process is EASY, really.

I can answer any specific questions you have about it related to cost and the process. I am pretty familiar and signed up to be one of their "CBR Moms" who are big supporters. I also have a contact person who I go through if you would like her name and she can send you a packet of information.

And I am not sure about the post before me about not being able to use it for that child. I know with CBR, my sons can use each of their own cord blood should they need it. I also believe that mom's are a 100% match should we need it, dad's 25%, and siblings 50%. I will tell you that as of now it is one time use. Research is being done to allow it to go further. And no one else has access to your cord blood.

Please let me know if you want any further information. I highly recommend it!!! Good luck with your baby!!!

We banked with CBR for my first son and are set to do it with them again when we have our second child in April. We view cord blood banking as an insurance policy of sorts. It is something you pay for and hope never to have to use. We have a history of various cancers in the family so we felt this is something we can do to try to help our children. There is no guarantee that it would help with whatever disease they may come up against, but we would feel terrible if we could have done something to help and let that opportunity pass. We have friends who banked and friends who didn't. It's a personal decision.
The initial storage fee is around 2000. There are multiple discounts available that may help bring down the cost. The yearly storage fee is 150 I think. I haven't had to pay any yearly storage fees yet because you can earn free storage by referring people to the program. They just changed the program however and they give you a check instead that you can use however you want. If you do bank with CBR, I can give you my code and you will get a discount too.
The post below is incorrect, the cord blood can definitely be used for the child it belongs to and would have to be tested for matching to any other family member. There are only a few uses for it now but the potential is huge.

I donated cord blood. If more people donated there would be less need for those expensive private banks.
It feels good to do that and it takes very little effort on your part.