Category Archives: Private Cord Blood Banking vs Public Cord Blood Banking

Banking Cord Blood: More than A Parent’s Responsibility?

Stem cells are the building blocks of your immune system. They are the type of cells that create new growth and development. If you are sick and your doctor recommends you to undergo stem cell transplant, you can only harvest it if you have a donor.

Stem cells in cord blood are as effective as the cells found in bone marrow. After years of investigation, doctors think cord blood stem cells might cure cancers, blood disorders, immune disorders, metabolic disorders, brain injury, cerebral palsy and type-1 diabetes.

“Do you really need to preserve your cord blood?”

This is the big question a lot of parents ask themselves. If you ask me, this is the type of question that requires decisive planning and thorough research. It’s not enough to answer it with a yes or a no because you can end up regretting your decision.

It’s true that storing cord blood is having a health insurance. You don’t know when you need it but you surely need it if your five-year-old child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The question to ask yourself is: “How willing are you to bank cord blood for your child?”

American Academy of Pediatrics released an official statement and to them, there are no accurate estimates that your child needs his own stored cells. Perhaps, only one or ten children out of 1,000 will need their cord blood. Truth is – autologous (self) cord blood transplantation shows no effective effectiveness for the treatment of malignant neoplasms (abnormal growth of body tissue).

Banking a cord blood can be possible if you have the budget.

In this time of economic crisis, you must know how to prioritize your needs before your wants. Ask yourself “Is storing your newborn’s cord blood a need or a want?” If it’s your need, will you spend money to meet this need?

The cost of storing cord blood is expensive. The first year fees range from $600 to $1,840 depending on which family bank you choose and which payment plan goes well with your budget. Cord Blood Registry (CBR) is the largest and the most experienced stem cell bank in the world and its one-time payment for the first year is $2,195. Choose their monthly plan and you need to pay $61. You are also given the option to store both cord blood and cord tissue but the total first year fee amounts to $2,915.

For some, it’s not a big deal to spend $61 per month to assure the well being of your child yet, it can’t be denied banking cord is still your personal decision based on what you earned.

Saving A Cord Blood Has No Price Tag

David and Tanya Melancon are married for three years. David is a pharmacist while Tanya is an account manager. While planning to invest on an insurance health policy that can change someone’s life, they decided to store their son’s cord blood before he was even conceived.

Zachary was born on December 15, 2011 and he could be diabetic when he’ll grow up. David and Tanya admitted that both of their families have history of diabetes and their only way of protecting their son from this lifetime disease is by storing his own cord blood in a private bank, in which they need to pay $7000 for twenty-five years.

“Hopefully, we never have to use it, but if we do …,” David said. “If we need it, you can’t put a price tag on it.”

Dr. Michelle Hughes is an obstetrician/gynecologist in Charlton Memorial Hospital, who delivered Zachary. She highly praised the couple’s decision for following what the medical breakthrough wants every couple to do. Stem cells in a cord blood contains a good amount of stem cells and it cures range of deadly diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, leukemia, cerebral palsy and other serious illnesses.

Private Cord Blood Banking & Autologous Therapy

A detailed report on the relationship of private cord blood banking and autologous therapy was published in Health News Digest. In this report, two doctors by the name of Francis Verter and JJ Nietfeld compares the rate of a cord blood stored in a private bank and a cord blood donated in a public bank. Sure, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) favors the latter but understanding the other side of the story is still good. By the end of 2009, it’s found out there are more than 200 cases of autologous therapy (banking cord blood).

Dr. Nietfeld confirms the cumulative probability of a ten-year-old child who will receive a matched cord blood stem cell is only one in 5000. That said, if this type of therapy which involves cord blood, especially to twelve percent of patients with cerebral palsy – the number of children receiving stored cord blood can be greater and the total number is even double than those who only received a cord blood from matched donors.