Need advice for blood cord bank

[kawaiiko]

I'm expecting my first baby in May, and I'm thinking should I store her blood cord?
Anyone has done that? or any recommendation in Vancouver area?
Any suggestions is appreciated... :razz:

[susan123]

Congrats on your arrival to be!
I did store my cord blood due to my past health issues and the fact my husband is adopted with unknown medical history. It is expensive!!! I paid around $1000 for the initial kit/storage and then it is $125 per year. So, you will have to determine to cost vs potential benefit for yourself.

If you do decide to go ahead, you will need to contact some places soon as they need time for you to do the required bloodwork, etc. and time to send you the kit. As for the actual process, your dr. takes care of everything in the moments after birth - all you do is call to let the cord blood bank know to send a courier to pick it up.

Any centre, regardless of where they are located will service your area. However, check in to regulations in Vancouver. Some provinces only have annonymous cord blood banks - meaning they won't save it just for you. It just goes into a general "pool" however, if you ever were to need it later, you would have access to the "pool".

[kawaiiko]

Thanks a lot Susan123.
I'm looking at a plan provided by Healthcord, just as you said, the one year full package will be $1075 plus tax, pre-pay for 18 years is $2450, and pre-pay for 10 years is $2100. I'm thinking go with the one year plan, and pay $125 storage fee every year. Although 18 year plan seems can save a lot, but for me it's too much to put in at one time.

[l69norm]

I kind of had the impression that only a few hospitals in the GTA gave you the option for this?

[susan123]

To my knowledge all hospitals in the GTA collect cord blood upon request, as long as you provide them with the collection kit. In order to get a collection kit, which is available to all pregnant women, you just contact the cord blood bank of your choice, pay your fees, sign the forms and a collection kit is sent to your home. All you then need to do is bring with you to the hospital and tell the doctor. But yes, before you show up, it would be best to ensure the hospital and dr. you are delivering with knows how to collect the sample.

As one point of reference, I used Insception Bioscience http://www.insception.com/

[nelsonmp5]

Here in Oakville, they charged us to collect the sample. We saw 2 other couples do it as well so when Cells for Life came to pick up the samples, they got 3 samples with three times the pickup fees in one shot!
Keep in mind, these are just insurance policies. They are predominantly on used for blood or immunological disorders. It won't be a miracle cure, even in the future, unless cloning technology is approved.

[kawaiiko]

That's true, I'm still considering should I invest in this.

My friend has donated to the hospital.

I'm thinking if there's any authority helping people making decision on this?

[Bees]

We are from Toronto area, but ended up going with Lifebank, which is based in Vancouver area. We decided that since our kids are mixed, Caucasian and Chinese/Filipino, that we were going to do cord blood banking for them as it was another opportunity for them to use it, should it be necessary--with the belief that it is just as an "insurance policy" for them. The customer service is great, no problems encountered. Staff has always been kind and courteous when I'd call with any questions. We did banking w/our first daughter in 2005, and did it again this past Jan 2008 with our second daughter. The courier fee when you deliver on a Saturday or Sunday is just over 200 dollars, as they use Air Canada...but the fees are generally in line with other companies. No complaints from our side...and yep, will do this again with our third, whenever that will be. Oh, once you register and pay the reg'n fees with your first banking, you don't pay again for that part.
Good luck with your decision.

[S U]

Why did you choose a cord blood bank across the country? Especially one that has never completed a transplant. There are numerous cord blood banks in Toronto with much better reputations.

Cord Blood Bank List with Number of Transplants (http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/usa/banklists/summary.shtml?navid=14#canada)

Thanks for that link. I've called 2 places on the list that are within the GTA area.

I found that Cells for Life is very expensive. They seem to have fees that the other company I called includes. However, they have been around for a much longer time.

I then called Progenics Cryobank. Their prices seem to be more reasonable. HOwever, they collect leukocytes (which apparently the stem cells are in). They state that by collecting leukocytes they collect a greater range of stem cells.

Both companies seem to store the cells the same way.

I know people that have used Cells for Life for storage purposes. The owner is actually my fertility doctor, so there is some sort of comfort level there.

Progenics, however, collects leukocytes. Also, I was able to speak to Dr. Yang, that was able to give me info on this - albeit it was difficult to understand him.

I think I'm leaning towards Progenics, both for the cost and the ease with which to speak to the Dr. also because they claim that collecting leukocytes is better than just extracting the stem cells.

I'd love to hear from anyone that may have used either of these companies.

[Jonavin]

We used Cells For Life. You'll have to weigh the costs and service differences for each company. Just pick one with lots of experience and a track record for doing this type of service.

You should consider whether you should do it at all since for most people there's probably a 3% chance that you'll ever use it. So I would treat it as a luxury insurance policy. If that $1000 and $100/yr is needed for necessities then I wouldn't bother.

The other option is to donate the stem cells. Consider doing that even if you decide not to store it privately.

[ghettogal]

I'm also looking into cord blood banking and I was actually going to post a new thread to see what other ppl's opinion was. I also asked my doctor and she had said it's best to go with a blood cord bank that's accredited. I checked and there's only 5 in Canada.

CANADA
Cells for Life Ltd
Markham

CANADA
HealthCord Cryogenics Corporation
Vancouver, BC

CANADA
Insception Biosciences
Mississauga

CANADA
Lifebank Cryogenics Corp
Burnaby

CANADA
Progenics Cord Blood Cryobank
Toronto

http://www.aabb.org/Content/Accreditation/Cord_Blood/AABB_Accredited_Cord_Blood_Facilities/

What do you guys think??? from the previous comment it looks like Progenics Cryobank is the better choice.

[lochlan651]

My wife's OB/Gyn had a baby 9 months before we did, so we asked her what she did, and she said she did NOT use a cord blood bank. We had a discussion about it with her, and came to the same conclusion we had.

The people getting in now are paying for the research these companies need to actually make this a viable operation for the entire community.

That was good enough for me. We trusted her to deliver the baby, so we trusted her with this decision.

And just for reference sake, she is a nationwide expert on OB, appearing on all of the major TV Networks and newspapers as a commentator on all sorts of pre and post natal issues, combine that with the fact she did not do this with her own child, was enough for us.

[tkl]

We used Progenics for our kiddo. No probs. I've gotten 2 years free due to the 2 referrals that I've passed on.

[looniepincher]

We're probably not going to do it but for those interested, you might want to know our ob/gyn's opinion on the matter.

She basically reiterated that it should be considered a luxury insurance policy that probably won't get used. She said if we're interested, she recommends Inception, Create, and a third that I don't remember the name of.

[royaljelly]

My friend had a nightmare with Insception. Both her and her mom are physicians in GTA, and it was her mom (who's an OB/GYN and practices at Mt Sinai hospital for over 30 years) who personally drew the cord blood.

Later on, they got a letter from Insception saying that there was not enough blood drawn and their sample couldn't be processed. They were shocked.

Thus far I've been happy with our decision to go with Progenics for our first son. I work in that same building where the samples are stored, and there was a rooftop fire not too long ago, in very close proximity to the Progenics lab. I panicked that our son's samples would be in jeopardy, but after doing a quick tour of their facilities again, everything was in perfect condition.

Now we have a second baby on the way, so we're debating whether we should go with another company this time around just in case, rather than putting our eggs all in one basket.

[susan123]

Later on, they got a letter from Insception saying that there was not enough blood drawn and their sample couldn't be processed. They were shocked.


Just wanted to let everyone know that this is a possibility no matter what company you decide to go with. I was told that it has nothing to do with the skill of the person drawing the blood, some samples just don't contain enough of what they need to make them viable.

Be sure to read all the forms and ask questions if you don't understand something. They all stipulate that some samples are rejected and ask you to decide up front what your wishes are should this happen. You can get a small refund or you can choose to store it anyway, but they make no promises. And you might never need it - and if you do need it, there are no promises that it will even work.

Again, a very costly "what if" insurance. You will need to decide if it is worth it for your family. I decided it was worth it - but also can see why others would make a different choice.

[jm1]

My friend had a nightmare with Insception. Both her and her mom are physicians in GTA, and it was her mom (who's an OB/GYN and practices at Mt Sinai hospital for over 30 years) who personally drew the cord blood.

Later on, they got a letter from Insception saying that there was not enough blood drawn and their sample couldn't be processed. They were shocked.

My understanding is that it's not the amount of blood, but the amount of stem cells in the blood, which you can't see visually. While the doctor was taking out the blood from the umbillical cord for us, she said something like "yeah, that's a good one", but she could only gauge the amount of blood and I thought was she was being overly-optimistic since she couldn't guarantee there's enough stem cells in the sample until it's been tested. Of course, the more blood, the greater chance you would catch more stem cells, but there's no guarantees.

[GTABuySell]

We went with Progenics last December. I did some reading on the web on all the major companies in GTA and went with Progenics.

Main reason for doing it for our second baby (didn't do it for our first baby) was because we are older (late 30's). I agree it is more like luxury insurance. If serveral $ can save a life or improve the quality of life of a person, it is worth it IF we can afford it. For us, we paid for installments of $6xx (don't remember the exact amount) for collection and 10 years of storage. So far we are very happy with Progenics.

[bubble.tea]

geez....I had no idea these sort of things were being done...WOW.

[Summer88]

I spoke with my Ob/Gyn and she said that its biological insurance and there is no harm to doing it.
Well i guess my take on it is "better safe than sorry."
So I did a bit of research and I decided to go with Healthcord. The person I spoke to on the phone was really helpful and knowledgeable and their 18 year plan gave me a bit of a savings, plus I don't have to worry about payments every year.

[canuck88]

Unless your family has a history of Leukemia, lymphoma, or other blood-related diseases, this is like any other insurance - usually a waste of money.

Here is what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say about it:

'Families may be vulnerable to emotional marketing at the time of birth of a child and may look to their physicians for advice. No accurate estimates exist of the likelihood of children to need their own stored cells. The range of available estimates is from 1:1000 to 1:200,000. Empirical evidence that children will need their own cord blood for future use is lacking. There also is no evidence of the safety or effectiveness of autologous cord blood transplantation for the treatment of malignant neoplasms. For these reasons, it is difficult to recommend that parents store their children's cord blood for future use.'

Educate yourself on stem cells and you'll realize the applications for this are very limited... i

[canuck88]

I spoke with my Ob/Gyn and she said that its biological insurance and there is no harm to doing it.
Well i guess my take on it is "better safe than sorry."
So I did a bit of research and I decided to go with Healthcord. The person I spoke to on the phone was really helpful and knowledgeable and their 18 year plan gave me a bit of a savings, plus I don't have to worry about payments every year.

Wow, not a very responsible statement by your OB. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in a 2007 policy statement on cord blood banking titled Cord Blood Banking for Potential Future Transplantation, stated that 'private storage of cord blood as "biological insurance" should be discouraged.'

[looniepincher]

even knowing the above we still decided to do it. We went with Insception

[coolspot]

Assuming you do store the blood ... what is it used for going forward?

AFAIK, stem cell treatments are still in preliminary stages of development ... In fact, even if stem cell treatments were developed, who knows if the stored blood is suitable for usage? Seems a bit like overprotective parenting? :)

[siriuskao]

Assuming you do store the blood ... what is it used for going forward?

AFAIK, stem cell treatments are still in preliminary stages of development ... In fact, even if stem cell treatments were developed, who knows if the stored blood is suitable for usage? Seems a bit like overprotective parenting? :)

Exactly what our doctor friend told us, he didn't do it for his son either. Another nurse we talked to said she had a chat with a sales rep, he told her only 1 sample was used out of 8000.

[ayeung]

... Later on, they got a letter from Insception saying that there was not enough blood drawn and their sample couldn't be processed. They were shocked. ...

I read on the newspaper today that only recently, there is a test that can differentiate cancer stem cells and healthy stem cells. Cancer stem cells grow at a much faster rate than the healthy stem cells and hence there are often more cancer stem cells than healthy ones that can be used.

[Summer88]

Wow, not a very responsible statement by your OB. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in a 2007 policy statement on cord blood banking titled Cord Blood Banking for Potential Future Transplantation, stated that 'private storage of cord blood as "biological insurance" should be discouraged.'

That is a very irresponsible statement to say about my ob/gyn. She is a medical professional, and I thought her analysis of cord blood banking to be very reasonable. I am offended by the fact that some people would think that once I am pregnant that I become paranoid and lose my sense of judgment and reason.

In fact, having a child in the family has made my husband and I more conscious of how to spend our money wisely. Rather than buying a luxury carrier or spending a couple thousand dollars revamping the nursery [ Note: We are also bombarded by advertisements from these baby product companies, does that mean we should take away all forms of advertising that target new parents?], I would much rather spend the money on something that can save my child's life.
Before we committed to banking with Healthcord, we did extensive research, looking into the pros and cons of each company. I am well aware of the current uses of cord blood, its current limitations, as wells as the research that is being conducted. I made a very informed decision.

Certainly, families that can't make ends meet should focus on spending money on necessities, but for my family, it's a service that is affordable. Cord blood banking does no harm to the health of my child, only good. I do feel that spending the money on cord blood banking is well worth it if my child does need the stem cells for future treatment.

[llcooljayce]

We went with Progenics and they have been great at getting us our kit. Very quick turnaround and they addressed all of our concerns over the phone in a very professional manner.

If you aren't convinced

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr0OOtvKU0A

[dealerschmealer]

this topic is just way too about personal opinion and situations....

but we have done this and its very expensive, Markham Stouffville - Cell for Life were really good and we didn't need to do anything except call cfl after the baby was born.

Also a little known fact is that if you are planning to have more than one kid, you only really need it to do it once, the stem cells can be used for almost any family member ...

so if .. god forbid, your family needs the cells, unless you need for more than 2 family members you should be ok

But do your research and take peoples opinion with a pinch of salt and make you own mind up

[llcooljayce]

this topic is just way too about personal opinion and situations....

but we have done this and its very expensive, Markham Stouffville - Cell for Life were really good and we didn't need to do anything except call cfl after the baby was born.

Also a little known fact is that if you are planning to have more than one kid, you only really need it to do it once, the stem cells can be used for almost any family member ...

so if .. god forbid, your family needs the cells, unless you need for more than 2 family members you should be ok

But do your research and take peoples opinion with a pinch of salt and make you own mind up

That's not quite true. From my research, there is a 25% chance that a sibling will be an exact match for the stem cells from another sibling.


9. Who else can use my baby's cord blood?

Your baby's cord blood is stored for the use of your family only. A sibling has the best chance of being a perfect match (about 1 in 4) and the chance of a transplantable match is much higher. Parents and other family members have a chance of matching a cord blood unit as well.

Source http://www.progenicscryobank.com/en/faqs.htm

[canuck88]

I think this thread (and countless others on other forums) makes it clear that there is a lot of misinformation out there about what these cells can and can't be used for.

[Beanbased2]

We are probably going to donate it. Our families have no history of blood diseases or cancer that we know of.

A labour and delivery RN we spoke to, mentioned a company call StemCyte (here in the US), I'm sure Canada should have something similar. The collection process is free and they guarantee that if "your child, your child's sibling or biological parent should need the donated stem cells for appropriate medical indications, we will provide the cord blood unit free of charge to you. If your donation has already been used for transplantation, StemCyte will try to obtain and make available the next most compatible unit in our inventory, provided it is acceptable to the transplant physician, also free of charge to you."

-Canuck in the US-

[SeeYouNextTime]

From what I've been told cord blood does not last forever, and becomes less and less useable as time goes on. The useable shelf life of cord blood is less than 10 years from what recall, but then again, no one really can say for sure because it had never been really put to the test after so many years.