Just like any other pregnant mom, I have watched numerous of commercials, received loads of pamphlets and have spoken to so many sales representatives from cord blood banking companies.
Here is what I understood about cord blood banking from all of it : Simply put, I would have to pay a fee to have a company store the blood from my child’s umbilical cord to be used in case my child or a sibling develops a life threatening disease. The cord blood could potentially cure the disease and save my child. What I found out, is that this information is partially true.
Public Banking: This is absolutely free, and in simple terms can be called a donation. In this case you simply donate your child’s cord so that it could be used in future to save a life.
Private Banking: This storage does not come cheaply. With India reporting 25 million or more child births a year, Cord Blood Banking is viewed by the industry as a cash cow. In this case you give the task of storing your child’s cord blood to a bank, who stores it for only your families use.
This was something my husband and I were interested in, hence we took time to dig a little deeper and learn more about it. I could not believe when I found out that if one would bank a child’s Cord blood and at the age of 4 if he developed something like leukemia, he would not be able to use his own Cord blood. Cord blood is not for the donater since the stem cells would genetically carry the same disease. His potential siblings would possibly be able to use it, though with only a 25% chance of a match, that is. If something should happen to any baby, the best option would be to go to a public bank where we would have a 75% chance of finding a match. Much higher odds than with a sibling’s Cord Blood.
This made me ponder over the fact that, why do people spend so much money for private banking when the chances that they will be able to use it at all is so slim? Why not instead donate the blood for free 
and let your healthy Cord Blood save another life?
There are probably two reasons for most new parents opting for Private cord blood banking:
1# There might be a possibility that your family has a history of disease that could be treated with Cord blood.
2# You may have chosen to opt for Cord blood banking in hopes that research will eventually lead us to more options and that the blood could have greater use for the child as an adult.
It was shocking for my husband and me, that our whole concept of cord blood banking was so wrong.
What we learnt was that its so important to read before making decisions and assumptions. As expecting parents we usually get sucked into concepts that will make our baby safer, healthier, smarter. Not to say that many of them don’t, but we should all be making sure that the information being provided to us is the full picture, not just the part that makes us feel extremely guilty.
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4.5
We actually chose to go for cord blood banking that too separately for both the kids. Our family do have a history of diseases. You are right, this industry has a long way to go before it proves something concrete scientifically and a lot of companies cash upon the emotions of the new parents. For us, we just considered it as another insurance ( which we hope we never get to use) considering the cases in our family.
It’s understandable that you chose to go for cord blood banking given your family history of diseases. As with any medical decision, it’s important for parents to do their research and make an informed decision that’s right for their family. While there is still much research to be done in this area, cord blood banking can be a valuable resource for certain medical conditions and could potentially save a life in the future. It’s great that you were able to make a decision that gave you peace of mind.
Hey this nit was new to me.too ans even i read about the 25 percent chance it could be used by your child and hence even i did not opt yo save it. Instead the cord waa taken by researchers in the hospital to test on ao that research about umbilical cord and how it affects baby’s fat per engage could be linked. I thought that was more valuable an option too .
Thank you for sharing this
You’re welcome! It’s great to hear that you also had the opportunity to contribute to medical research through your child’s umbilical cord. It’s important to understand the different options available for cord blood and cord tissue banking and make an informed decision based on what works best for you and your family.
Private cord blood banking has come into shady areas now. I had my doubts initially but still went ahead getting it done during both my pregnancies. Our idea was to have stem cells that may be helpful to first family or the baby herself in whatsoever useful ways. There are diseases which run in family so just thought of preserving them for some good use and research work in future. Having said that I still don’t deny that I do have uncertainties about this whole procedure. Great post.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on cord blood banking. It’s understandable to have doubts and uncertainties about the procedure, but it’s good to hear that you weighed the options and made a decision that was best for your family. Private cord blood banking can be a valuable resource for families who have a history of certain diseases or who may benefit from the potential medical applications of stem cells. However, as with any medical decision, it’s important to do thorough research and consult with healthcare professionals before making a decision.
Hi, very good article
Thanks for sharing keep up the work
Thanks Trisha.