Storing cord blood

[Miss E]

Hi there,

I've just been doing a bit or research into storing cord blood. Initially I had hoped to donate ours, but just found out that you can't donate when in a private hospital... Private storage is very pricey, but then I kind of think it is such a precious thing, that it is worth preserving.

I also wonder if I could live with myself if we decided not to store it and our child did develop some awful disease that the stems cells could have helped cure... Has anyone else gone down the storage route? How did you decide whether or not to do it and which company to go with?

[scarypinkfairy]

There is a section in the book I'm reading on this. It says there is only a very small chance of your baby's blood being useful. Stem cell research could possibly be used to treat diseases like heart disease, MS, diabetes, cancer and a few others.
It can only be useful for treating leukaemia in the family, only if the child's sibling or close relative has the disease. A child's own cells can't be used to treat them as their cells have a predisposition to the disease.
The blood can only be stored for 20 years so the science may not even be perfected by then.
I think it is just a way for companies to take your money for storing it, when the chances it will be useful are very slim. HTH

[tenar]

I think that cord blood is better off going into the baby in the first place. There seem to be a few recent studies I've read of suggesting that we should wait as long as possible, until as much of the blood as possible goes into the baby, before cutting the cord.

This does make sense to me, because it seems to be the way we have evolved.

[BellyBelly]

Have a read of THIS article: Cord Blood: What You Need to Know

[Kitt3n]

Have a read of THIS article: Cord Blood: What You Need to Know

:yeahthat: