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There are ways to donate, though they may be locally based.

Check out Viacord or google cord blood donation with your local / state listed.

We were ineligible to donate because I carry the herpes virus.

We decided to invest in banking because of the history of certain genetic diseases in the family.
It's well worth researching and reading about.

Check out a few different companies, they offer different plans, though the prices I saw were pretty similar in the end.

I researched Cord Partners. They sent a very good information packet and have a variety of payment plans. Their office is in LA, but they store the cord blood in New Jersey.

I decided to go with Cord Blood Registry. They claim to be the largest Cord Blood Bank in the country and to have been involved with more transplants than any other bank. Their payment plans better suited our needs and offered a better interest rate in the end.

Their customer service was very, very fast. I'm at 37 weeks, so they got me processed right away today and they are overnighting the collection kit to me.

Their storage facility is in Arizona, which made me quite happy since it's not prone to natural disasters or terrorist attacks or global warming floods.

You can see their pricing online here.

Basically, the first years fees (including processing, collection, courier and storage fee) = $1,975.

After that there is a $125 per year storage fee.

This is about $200 more for the first year than the other place I mentioned, but the payment plan we selected has a better interest rate so it gets paid off at a lower price in the end.

The first year fees can be paid off with a credit payment plan - ours is a 48 month plan for $50 a month. WE don't make a payment for 6 months. After 48 months, the $125 per year kicks in.

CBR has a referral program. $125 off for each friend who signs up. So if you mention my name, I'll get a free year storage.

It's probably not too late for me to mention somebody elses name if there are any existing CBR clients out there. I may have up til the time I send the collection kit in.

To date, cord blood donations as old have 15 years old have been used in effective therapies. Most banks at this point are confident that they'll be good for at least 18 years and it is quite likely that new technology will extend the viability of the samples even longer. It's also quite likely that they will soon be able to replicate the stem cells to create more of the ones you have in storage.

Given the history of genetic disease, we felt that this was a very important "insurance" investment to make. While therapies are not yet available for our specific concern (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) - they may be in the future. And if they are, they could benefit the new baby, Joshua and Vince - all of whom have a %25 - 50% chance of getting sick with the disease in midlife.

Originally posted by: Creme