A random regret for you. When I gave birth to CG and CB I didn’t donate or bank the cord blood. I think I debated over it very briefly, but never took the time to make a conscious decision – and therefore the decision was made for me. I didn’t do it. I don’t even remember if I was asked about it when I was in the hospital about to give birth (I may have been asked though – I was pretty hopped up on drugs during both deliveries).
As mother’s day rolls around, I know a lot of women who are due to give birth in the next few months, and thought that a neat way to celebrate Mother’s Day would be to mention that a GREAT gift that moms can give their child is the possible defense against unforseen diseases that may strike them later in life. It can be done through services like Cryo-Cell U-Cord.
Why donate umbilical cord blood? Well, the blood that remains in the umbilical cord after childbirth is still with stem cells which are normally found in our bone marrow. Stem cells are kind of like “master” cells that can produce white cells to combat infection, and red cells that carry oxygen throughout the body. When the cord blood is banked, it can be used later on to fight against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, sickle cell disease, and anemia.
I thought of this topic while I was reading “My Sister’s Keeper” a few months ago, too. It’s a fictional book about a sister who is specifically conceived to harvest all the things necessary to save her older sister, who has leukemia. If the parents had just donated cord blood when that older sister was born, they would have already had the stem cells available for that girl without the need to conceive a daughter specific to act as a lifelong donor. Makes you think, huh?
We did this, when F was born – It set us back a couple of grand, but with Matt’s heart disease, we figured it was a good choice. We’re paid up for 21 years of storge too – That was also included in the price we paid initially. I would definitely do it again if I ever had another baby.
And I did say “if.”
I tried to donate the cord blood, but my OB said there wasn’t enough blood to collect. (I kinda think she just didn’t want to do it, though).
We couldn’t afford to bank the kids’ cord blood. I was never asked about donating Jesse’s since his birth was unexpectedly early and too fast for them to do the paperwork. I’m sad about that. We did donate Molly Ann’s to the local bank. I’m glad to know it’s there if we or someone else ever needs it.