No, nothing bad has happened to either of my kids. They are not in dire need of cord blood or at any serious risk into it. But I still feel a twinge of regret every time I hear people talk about preserving their newborn’s stem cells because I had the option to do it with both children and chose not to. Because July is Cord Blood Awareness Month I’ve seen the topic come up quite a bit lately. For us, there was no reason for choosing not to do so besides money. And that’s I think where the regret comes from. That I know I chose money over the many potential benefits for my children of banking cord blood.
My mom friends started discussing this subject at dinner the other night as one was wondering if she should bank the cord blood of her next baby. Hearing everyone’s personal stories of people they knew who benefited from banking cord blood blew my mind and honestly hurt my heart a little bit. I don’t have that for my children if they need it one day.
What is cord blood banking anyways? Most women who have had a baby the last few years have been given lots of pamphlets on cord blood banking. But people who haven’t had kids yet or who had children before it was a popular thing might not have even heard of it! Cord blood banking is when the blood from a newborn’s umbilical cord is collected and saved in case it is needed in the future.
Why might cord blood be helpful? There is less risk of certain complications when cord blood is used in transplants compared to stem cells from other sources and it is being researched for conditions that have no cure. Preserving stem cells from cord blood protects the cells from aging, environmental factors, and common viruses that may decrease their function.
There are several companies out there who offer cord blood banking, but one that stands out for their reputation is Cord Blood Registry. For starters CBR is the largest newborn stem cell bank in the world and the #1 choice of OB/GYNs and expecting parents. They actually invest in FDA-regulated clinical trials to learn more about cord blood stem cells and connect families to these trials when they qualify.
I hope that if you are reading this post, you feel compelled to put the time into really considering banking your child’s cord blood at birth. Learn more about CBR and cord blood banking here!
Did you bank blood from your babies? Let me know your experience below!
Our dr had recently had a patient who was diagnosed with cancer and bc she had done cord blood banking the year before when her child was bird she was able to use those stem cells bc they were a match to her. Obviously this is a very extreme case BUT it made me think why not have an insurance policy for our family♀️. Obviously it’s not for everyone but I feel some relief knowing we have that if ever there is a need for it (and it’s a match and useable etc.)
Great post
I considered it, but wasn’t educated much on the topic. Thanks for sharing! If I was having more kids in the future, I would definitely do it!
I vaguely remember receiving information in this when I had my last child but didn’t really give it much thought at the time. Now I wish I had! There are definitely some amazing benefits for doing this.
I loved learning about this. I donated mine with my first daughter.
I wish I would have done this with my two kids! Unfortunately at the time we weren’t in a place financially to make the investment. However, if we have a 3rd, it’ll be at the top of our list!
I didn’t do it, and I so wish I had!
It’s seriously something I wish I did too
I seriously just learned so much from this post. I have not done this in the past, but I will definitely be considering it in the future.
Man, I was so interested in doing this but always told myself I would look into it “later”. How I wish I would have taken the time to research it when I had the chance.