Cord blood banking and donating has been a hot topic in my mind lately, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, it'd be beneficial for me to try to hash a few things out here, in case others were having similar thoughts about these processes.
I should state right off the bat that I'm fairly certain that I would like to donate Baby B's cord blood, as opposed to banking it. First off, and this is important and something I didn't know until I started my research so pay attention: Cord blood is far more likely to save a sibling of your baby (any future Baby B's) than it is your baby. If you're gunning for a large family, that is quite motivating. If, like me, you're considering calling it quits after your first, banking may not be for you. Second, take time to research the different private cord blood banks. There are a couple that pop up in most magazines/pregnancy propaganda, but take the time to look through others (reputable, of course), and you may be able to save yourself a good amount of money. While there are fees associated with private cord blood banking, they are nominal when compared to the cost of treating A.L.L. (acute lymphocitic leukemia) and the rest of the vast array of diseases cord blood can help to treat. Just something to think about...
With regards to cord blood donation, these are my personal thoughts, and take from my time here on the soap box what you will. This is a personal decision, one that no matter what you decide I respect and understand. For me PERSONALLY, however, I cannot justify having Baby B's cord blood end up in a biohazard bin as opposed to donated to a public bank to save another child's life, which is precisely what happens. IF YOU DO NOT BANK CORD BLOOD PRIVATELY, OR SET UP TO DONATE IT, IT WILL BE TOSSED OUT. Add to that little tidbit my firm belief in karma, and my decision is 99% made.
If you are interested in donating or privately banking cord blood and don't know where to start, here is a great place that I came across while doing my research. I am currently printing out these forms to take with me to my 30-week appointment on 10/21, as YOU MUST HAVE THIS SET UP BY YOUR 34TH WEEK TO QUALIFY. I'm not by any means trying to be pushy - I just read through this stuff several times before catching on to a few of these things, and they were significant points with me.
Just some info for all you mommies-to-be. I may have just watched too many "The More You Know" public service ads as a kid, but I firmly believe that knowledge is power, and so many times opportunities fall by the wayside due to a lack of information. If you're against the use of cord blood, I respect that as well, of course!
This is so great -- thanks for posting. Drew and I have thought a lot about saving our cord blood and decided not to, but I hate the thought of just throwing it away. Donating is a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Something to think about though: my water broke at the hospital and the nurse thought she saw meconium in it; because of that, we didn't get to wait for the cord to stop pulsing like we had wanted. As soon as my daughter was out, her Daddy was handed a pair of scissors and then she was whisked away to get examined. In instances like those, I don't think you get the choice of whether or not the cord blood gets to be drawn because everything happens so fast and they just don't give a rat's ass about things like that because the baby's immediate health is way more important. My doc told me later that even if I'd wanted to they wouldn't have been able to draw it because of that. So the lesson learned was this: be prepared for everything to not go the way you want it to!
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