A Pediatrician S Opinion On Cord Blood Banking
5 Replies
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I asked my sister-in-law who is a pediatrician and recently did a fellowship in Pediatric Oncology at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospial what she thought of private stem cell storage. Here is what she told me and I just wanted to share: "I always get this question at our hospital "Meet the Mom" sessions (15 docs; this is the most dreaded and, b/c of my fellowship experience, they always give
this one to me!). Bottom line is that it is not recommended, by me or the American Academy of Pediatrics. The isssue is multifaceted and because it involves a personal expense it can be touchy too, but I still think the total cost (financial and emotional)is not justified at this point in time. Without overly simplifying, pretty much the only group I encourage to look into
cord blood storage further are those with a close personal family history of sickle cell disease, or family history of a disease that is known to possibly have favorable outcomes after transplant (such as those with a history of neuroblastoma or the AML type of cancer)." Bottom line: the "private banks" are all FOR-PROFIT and play on many peoples emotions. We all want the best for our babies but do some research on your own, bank it if you wish but even better: DONATE! The more we donate, the quicker they may come up with more cures!
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Hi, thanks for sharing the info.
Just want to say I have decided to bank the cord blood after speaking to several physicians (in different disciplines) who suggested it is a good idea. All your points are valid but better safe than sorry. this is a controversial issue and I believe if a family can afford it they should do it w/o a doubt.
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Does it cost anything to donate? Shipping fee or anything like that?
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Thanks for the info, I had already decided that we would not bank, but donate, we don't have any history of diseases that I know would be treated by cord blood, but I do think that donations are great, and in the future I might bank, when money isn't as much of an issue. I also think that anyone who doesn't bank should donate, I don't really understand why it is routine, I think it should be, but I guess there would be some people out there who have some wierd objection to it being collected and donated, but that is my opinion
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hey! tryingx3 donation is free. It is also painless as the cord blood is collected after the delivery from the placenta (which is generally thrown) and umbilical cord. Though u will have to give 30ml (about 3 teaspoons) of your blood for testing of viruses such as hepat_tis, CMV, HTLV , AIDS and syphilis. The agencies will inform u if u have positive test results. so u will get a free blood test. but the agencies will also want to go through your medical records.
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I just found out that you can donate and if you ever need to make use of it they will check to see if it is still there before using anothers. Just an FYI.
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