How to bank cord blood

Banking cord blood for your family.

Parents decide to bank cord blood because they know that doing so has the potential to save their children's lives or the lives of any family members. Cord blood is packed with stem cells that are at their most potent because they have yet to begin their transformation into other cells, tissue or organs.

What diseases has stem cells transplants helped?

At present, stem cell transplants can be used to help beat leukemia, anemia and many other blood related diseases but the future looks certain to hold the cure for many more diseases of various different types. You would be forgiven for thinking, then, that more parents would be donating cord blood or storing cord blood for the use of their own children.

The cost.

One of the big factors that means a lot of parents do not store the cord blood for use by their own children or their own family is the cost of doing so. Initially it is necessary to pay approximately $1500 to cover the cost of removing the cord blood, storing it and other administration fees. Then it costs approximately further $100 per year, this amount can usually be paid annually or monthly depending on your preference while some companies offer a discount to those willing to pay storage costs up front.

Knowledge.

More people would undoubtedly donate or bank cord blood if they were given access to more information. Most people have heard of stem cell research and, in particular, the controversy surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells but the benefits and potential impact of using cord blood is something that simply hasn't had the same kind of exposure. If there were more advertisements that relayed the benefits on offer to parents for banking cord blood then there would almost undoubtedly be more expectant parents willing to donate and bank cord blood.

Lack of advertising.

A lack of advertising has been evident because public storage facilities are run on a very tight budget and even for profit organizations have very little money to spend on costly advertising campaigns. This situation is not likely to change, although private blood storage facilities do tend to have the money to advertise but not all parents can afford the costs of storing cord themselves. There is a good chance that these same parents may not know that the possibility to bank cord blood is even available to them. This really does need to change before even more can be done to help with stem cell research.

Availability.

There are a growing number of organizations that will store your baby's cord blood either privately or as a donation but this doesn't mean that there are banks in every area of the country. If you have tried looking around but found no companies willing to aid you to bank cord blood then you should consider contacting local hospitals and university hospitals to ask them if they can either store the blood for your or if they know of a group who can. Usually this will turn up someone who is more than happy to take a donation o cord blood cells. University hospitals, in particular, are always on the look out for viable sources of cord blood to conduct experiments and tests on.

Looking for the right company to bank cord blood.

To bank cord blood you will need to find a company that are capable to store the blood. Looking around to find the best deal is vital, but you should not only consider the cost or the payment plan. There are a number of things you should look at including the experience that the company has. This will give you a clear indication of whether the company has successfully completed any transfusions using the blood from within their storage facilities.

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