May 22 2008
Cord Blood
Modern technology is amazing and terrifying at the same time. I don’t think having a baby used to be so complex. Not only are pregnant women now tested for everything under the sun (which is anxiety at its peak), there are decisions that must be made that never used to exist.
For example, cord blood banking. I have to admit, this is something I know NOTHING about, but soon will, as every cord bank has mailed me dozens of pamphlets.
They all say, banking your newborns cord blood can save their lives. Can it? It’s not necessarily cheap. Is it worth the money?
On first glance, my reaction is……Yes, it’s worth it. You can’t put a price on your child’s life. But in the back of my head, I still wonder….is cord blood banking the thing to do.
You don’t have to bank the cord blood just in case one day you need it, you can donate it to someone who needs it now. Your babies can start their lives by possibly saving someone else’s. I have a good friend who was diagnosed with leukemia and is alive today because of a cord blood transplant.
Check it out! http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html
We have been blessed with healthy children so, donating cord blood for others is a great point — just like banking breast milk. I never did either despite going through three pregnancies. I really considered it the 2nd time — not thinking there would be a 3rd. Just because.
The first thoughts are always for your family, but consider this if you decide to bank anything: I know if mama’s milk is donated, you need to be screened through the milk bank and then have a slew of procedures to follow. I’m not sure what the specifications — or costs — are for banking blood for your or someone else’s future.
I’m a mom to 4 year old twins. First, congratulations! Second, you WILL get through this!
Third, it won’t be an option for you to donate your cord blood, unless things have changed in the past few years. I wanted to donate our cord blood, but was told that due to issues that can occur with twins (TTTS, IUGR, Placenta Degredation), that most places will not accept twins cord blood for donation. Even though I suffered from no issues, I just wasn’t eligible.
Good luck to you!
Hi!
I am Tyler Matson’s wife, Melissa. Remember Tyler? We love watching you on the News, you do such a great job. CONGRATULATIONS on your pregnancy! Twins! How exciting. We have four children. Three boys and one girl ages: 7,5,3, and 17 months. We feel very blessed and are very busy! Tyler is busy with starting his own plumbing/remodeling business and I am lucky to be a stay-at-home mommy. Mark is also doing well, is married (to a Melissa!) and is a car salesman at Ferrero I-25. They don’t have any kiddos, yet. Well, I just wanted to say congrats to you and good luck with your pregnancy!
Melissa
I have two sons, 6 and 4. We debated too long and missed the opportunity to store my first son’s cord blood stem cells. He was born 5 weeks early and we were not ready.
My second son’s cord blood stem cells were collected and stored. The collection process was relatively painless since our doctor was familiar with the procedure. Our hospital was near the airport, and there were no transportation problems getting the stem cells to our storage facility. I suppose a good blizzard/storm could prevent getting collected stem cells to the storage facility in time.
Two years ago I was diagnosed with Lymphoma. It was in my bones and it was about to kill me. Fortunately, I had a wonderful response to my chemotherapy and I’m cancer free at the moment.
A bone marrow transplant was optional given my great response to the treatment. I elected not to get a transplant at the time, but I did undergo the procedure to collect my adult stem cells and they are also in storage. Hopefully we will never need either set of stored stem cells, but I should mention that my younger son’s stem cells are probably a match for me.
So, it’s not just your child’s life that can be saved by stored stem cells. Someone else in your family may need them.
I initially thought, as you do, that the price was steep to get the stem cells collected. Now I think the cost for this insurance was cheap. My only regret is that I couldn’t get my first son’s cord blood stem cells collected. He has the rarest blood type and I do worry that no one else in the family could be a donor for him if he ever has the need.
Apparently the stem cells can be used to treat other health problems and I’m sure you’re familiar with Dimitri Bonnville’s story. I think we will see many more problems treated with stem cells in the future.
So my advice, don’t debate this too long. And don’t leave things up to mother nature. If you can, get the kit and be ready to collect the stem cells.
Best Regards
I read in one of the pregnancy magazines that if your child ever does need a stem cell transplant, it is far more likely that a match would be found from donated cord blood than from your baby’s own cord blood. Firstly, if your baby has a genetic disease that requires a stem cell transplant, his or her own cord blood will almost certainly be useless. Secondly, siblings are rarely an exact match either and may also be carriers for the same type of disease. Anyway, that is what I read about it because I too was trying to decide what to do. It sounded to me like donating the cord blood would be a good idea because it does not cost thousands of dollars, and maybe some day my child could benefit from someone else’s cord blood. Of course, it is always a personal decision and you have to be comfortable with whatever choice you make. So, if you feel more comfortable banking your children’s cord blood for their own use, do it. If ever it is needed, you will be glad you did.
I regret not saving my son’s cord. My son will be an only child and I pray to God he will never need it now. However I did donate it and feel good about that and hope it helped someone else.