This blog is about the pros and cons of banking your babies cord blood.
We will go over both sides of the view in detail and let you decide for yourself.
Unlike most informational websites online, this blog is NOT affiliated with ANY cord blood banking companies. Period. The Pros and Cons:
PROS:
Obviously the pros of cord blood banking would be having your baby’s own cord blood stem cells on hand if the child ever becomes ill. There are dozens of diseases that are treated with cord blood and disorders that stem cells can help and even cure. A broad range of conditions could be treatable. From cancers, brain damage, diabetes, to cardiovascular problems.
Another for the Pros side is besides the baby becoming ill, if someone else in the family were to become ill, the cord blood stem cells MAYBE able to help someone else in the immediate family. The percentages that you will be given are all over the board. Usually you will get figures as high as 75% to as low as 25%. The bottom line is, besides the new born, the the stem cells in the cord blood could possibly be used for another family member, just at a lesser chance of compatibility.
Finally, adding to the pros, The future is still untold. These are some of the treatments and things that they are doing NOW. Where will they be in ten years, or even five or three years. They have replaced entire jaw bones with a single cell.
CONS:
Some cons to banking your baby’s cord blood maybe; a lot of diseases, conditions, and disorders that the stem cells may not be able to help or cure. Parents could be devastated to know they took the precaution to bank the cord blood and it was for no good and not able to help their sick child. Some illnesses are not going to be treatable with the same blood as the child because the cord blood will contain the same defect.
Another con is the high cost associated the banking process. Banking cord blood currently runs anywhere from $900.00 to more than $2700.00 for initial banking. Then an additional annual fee is required. This can run anywhere from $100.00 to $150.00 per year.
These figures of course are just estimates and will vary. There are different types of banking companies also. Ones that process the stem cells and store the cells themselves and some companies are just in the “middle” between you and the actual company that processes and banks the cord blood. You place your order with them and then pay them, they will set up your account and take care of everything for you. Not much difference except that your cord blood will not be stored with them but with a third party. A very easy way to find out which kind you are dealing with is to ask the banking company, when you are talking to them, “Do you store the cord blood at your own facility?”.
That should clear it up right then. It is up to you to to determine if you would like to go this route.
Your best bet is to shop as many stem cell banking companies as possible.
For us, the bottom line of cord blood banking pros and cons is simple; If you can afford to do the stem cell banking, you should highly consider it.
This is not exactly one of the pros for parents of a new born, but donation banking of the cord blood is an option to help another sick child in need. There are no cons. It is free and painless. This is if you can not afford the cord blood banking.
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Here are some more Pros and Cons of Cord Blood Banking – Part 2
Lets do it list style this time and single out the pros and cons of cord blood banking.
We will include donation storing also with this list.
PROS
-It does not cause an additional pain during the birth of the child.
-It does not cause any pain for the new baby either.
-Ability to cure certain disorders and diseases.
-Ability to possibly help another family member if they were to get sick.
-Ability to assist a stranger who may have a terminal disease if donated.
-Ability to regrow bones.
-The future of cord blood stem cells is still to be told. Doctors have just started to scrape the surface of this new medicine. The future is wide open.
Those are some of the pros, now lets take a look at some of the cons of cord blood banking.
CONS
-Expensive. Some may say it is cheap if you consider the potential but the immediate cost of two to three thousand is just to steep for most of americans at this time.
-After paying, the blood may not be usable. The stem cells in the banked cord blood might just be straight up no good.
-The cord blood may have the same defect as what the child or sibling is suffering from.
This is not usually the case, but it is a possibility.
-The stem cells may not be compatible with siblings or family members.
-Not all diseases and conditions are treatable with stem cells.
-Future medicine may render these stem cells needless. Most would agree that this field is growing and not going anywhere fast, it is still a possibility.
-Most donated blood goes unused
-It is also extremely expensive for the public to use for themselves.
Just some more facts to consider when considering the pros and cons of cord blood banking.
Disadvantages of Cord Blood Banking
There is not a lot of disadvantages of banking cord blood, but we will go over a few of the cons now.
Yes, private banks are for -profit and depending on your view and financial situation, it could be considered very expensive, but it truly is a one time chance to do something unique. Grab clear cells straight from the mother and baby’s umbilical cord for later use. This is something you cannot do at any other time. If at a later time you need stem cells from cord blood and did not save your child’s, then you would be forced to go to a public bank.
That leads to another of the cons. Do not be under the misunderstanding that by the public or free cord blood banking companies. These are totally free. They are free to donate to but it is not free to use the stem cells from the cord blood banking. It is estimated that it may cost the parents or their insurance companies more than thirty thousand dollars to use stem cells in a transplant procedure.
Another of the cons or disadvantages would be the fact that not all diseases your child may suffer from will be treatable.
Something else to strongly consider is the fact that sometimes the stem cells, though clear, may suffer from the same DNA that has the same disorder. Meaning they will be no help.
A very small con would be that the future of stem cells may become obsolete. And some of the diseases like cancer, have other treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.
Another disadvantage would be the odds of it being usable with another family member. As you will read, others will state it is only 25 percent while others will report 75 percent compatibility with siblings. And even lower for parents usage.
However, who knows where this medical technology will be in five to ten years.
Problem is, if you pass, you will never get another chance.
Weighing the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, if the costs are not prohibitive, then cord blood banking would be suggested due to the current and future possibilities.
Advantages of Cord Blood Banking
One of the biggest pros of cord blood banking is the fact that there is no pain involved. No additional pain. Not for the mother and not for the new baby. When you break it down, the facts are simple, you should either bank your own cord blood at a private bank or donate it to a public stem cell storage company that does the banking.
Where one of the biggest cons of banking are the higher cost, donation is absolutely free on top of it being painless.
You are at the advantage of getting the chance at saving a life. Whether it be your child’s, a sibling of the child, or another family member.
Donation is one of the pros that gives you the chance to save a strangers life who also has a family.
It is a one time chance for an insurance policy you just cannot buy at any other time.
Some of the treatable disorders that stem cells may be able to help treat include but or not limited to:
-Over two dozen cancers
-Nine bone marrow disorders
-Blood disorders
-Almost twenty serious Metabolic disorders
-Several Myelodysplastic
-A dozen Immune System Disorders
-Many more also. Some you have certainly heard of, like Type 1 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Epstein Barr, Osteopetrosis, Cerebral Palsy, etc.
It is an amazing one time chance to do something that you can not buy at a later time.
No one knows where the medical advances will be in the future but it looks very assuring that
stem cells will be playing a fairly large role in treatments. They have already replaced entire bones and cured diseases and disorders with just a couple of stem cells.
Being able to address these and more diseases are huge pros and advantages to banking cord blood.
