Cord Blood

I was wondering if anyone has chosen to bank their babys cord blood either in a public or private bank. I am so confused on what to do, private, public or if I should or shouldn't bank.

Re: Cord Blood

I am. I am using Viacord. I hope I will never need it. I hope in the future that they find some other uses for it.

Re: Cord Blood

If you do not mind me asking why you went with them vs. the other banks. There are so many choices I was hoping to get other mommy's opinions.

Re: Cord Blood

We used Cryo Cell

Hope we never need it


ETA: My friend used them and was happy with their service. Plus they were the least expensive. There is a bank 20 min from my house, but the fee was outrageous I don't know why.

Re: Cord Blood

We also used Viacord. I went witht hem because it is the company that was recommended by my Momn's close friend who is head of pediatric oncology out @ Stony Brook and North Shore. They have the best success rate for the # of viable cells. Some of the others have very low viable cell #'s and then it is just a waste of your $. My daughter's # was much higher than my friend's cord cells and she used another company, which I am sorry to say was Cryo-cell (please don't take any offense, I know alot of people who use Cryo-cell).

Re: Cord Blood

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Posted by emilain

We also used Viacord. I went witht hem because it is the company that was recommended by my Momn's close friend who is head of pediatric oncology out @ Stony Brook and North Shore. They have the best success rate for the # of viable cells. Some of the others have very low viable cell #'s and then it is just a waste of your $. My daughter's # was much higher than my friend's cord cells and she used another company, which I am sorry to say was Cryo-cell (please don't take any offense, I know alot of people who use Cryo-cell).

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and how do you find out your viable cell #?

ETS: ok i see where they sent me the Specimen Information Ceritifcate. How do you find out if the count is high or low?

Re: Cord Blood

We used Viacord as well. Once you have the baby and bank their blood, a letter is sent to your house that confirms the info, and says how many cells in the millions were viable. They said under 100 million was too low and they'd give the option to have the parents discard the cells. I believe ours was 460 million.

Re: Cord Blood

we are banking ours- and will hopefully NEVER need it...another one using CRYO-CELL...my family has used them in the past so we went on the referral.

Another tip we learned, you can 'talk to them' about the pricing, most places will lower the enrollment fee. We didn't know this until after we paid so it was too late.

Re: Cord Blood

The #'s could be low because of the time it took in transit, the currier may have not made it back to the blood bank in the suggested time, the R.N could have done the kit incorrectly, etc. My #'s were somewhere around 450 too!
Also, it is important o make sure that the companies are certified and Cryo-cell was not when my last daughter was born, they were still pursuing their certification. The doctor who my family is very friendly with (and is a world renown oncologist) actually said ' in this case, $ does buy value'. Viacord is expensive because they are top notch and have techniques and standards that are stricter than other companies, but like we have all said, hopefully it is just an insurance and it will never be needed! Just think, a few years ago, this topic was not even an option, so I guess it's better you habe it than not, regardless of the company you have banked with. I do know you can transfer your cells to Viacord, a few of my friends have after they read info regarding the success rates of their companies vs. Viacrod.

Re: Cord Blood

Thanks so much for all of your helpful info, it is really a big help!!