To cord or not to cord?

In all my thirty years of being on this planet I had never come across the term “cord blood banking”. That is …until I  became a baby maker. I’ve noticed the same thing amongst my friends as well, which is why I thought I would share the research for Cord Blood Banking in Toronto that I gathered for myself  .

  • First of all… What is cord blood banking? It is the blood from the umbilical chord and the placenta. This is usually (at least has been in the past) thrown away. However recent research has shown that this blood contains stem cells which when stored properly can be used in the future to treat genetic and hematopoietic diseases. The stored blood from one child could potentially be used to treat another family member.
  • Does it really work? Is it worth the $1000 odd investment? Cord blood banking is an insurance policy. Keep that in mind. While there is research currently under way to prove the viability of properly stored cord blood, there isn’t too many concrete examples or cases. This is still a fairly new practice and it will take a few years before parents  who have stored the blood will have a chance to ( though  we hope they never need to!) use the stored blood. When I asked the doctors in my circle about the investment they all told me the same thing – if we have  $1000 to spare then to do so. Now I don’t know about you but I sure don’t have $1000 to to “spare”. I’d rather travel or buy some shoes and handbags. Just saying. Our options were donating it for research or banking it ourselves.  I did not want it to be thrown away when there were researchers looking to test the viability of the theory. In addition, since our child would be of mixed ethnicity, I feared that the chances  of finding a donor, if we ever needed one, would be very difficult.   However at the end of the day, it’s more about peace of mind and after much back and forth over the 6 months (since we found out about cord blood banking) we decided to take the jump and make the commitment couple weeks before delivery… in the hopes of never  needing it.
  • Now that you’ve decided to bank…Who do you sign up with? The short and sweet of that is – whoever is the cheapest. All reputable cord banks offer the same services and my OB offered the same advice. In general you want a bank that has been in business for a while (so that they have the proper facilities and can inform you of the number of successful transplants) and abides by the the Canadian Standards. On occasion some hospitals have a  partnership with a specific bank, in which case you might save some extra dollars in transportation fees.  In addition think about the  future, some banks have discounts for multiple and future births. Some also have various payment plans (though I didn’t find any significant cost savings in most cases).
I spent days researching the various Canadian banks (and even contemplated using a U.S bank since banks will courier the blood to wherever you need it) and here’s a chart I compiled with the costs for a few of the Canadian banks. Please note that this is my own research and none of the companies below have sponsored this article. In the end, you will have to do your own research!
Having done my research I chose CREATE only because they had very competitive pricing and best  of all.. their nurse educator replied promptly to my emails! It’s the little things with me! Also note that they do have a referral program, if you quote a friend’s CB # when signing up then both, you and your friend, get a  free year of storage (a $115 value!). Feel free to quote my CB # 6505  if you want!

Please spend some time looking into courier fees. CREATE had recommended two places and I was shocked at the price disparity. For example Dish Courier was charging  $17.00 ( Monday through Friday)  or  $42.00(outside of regular hours  and weekends) + fuel (approx 11%) + HST. Alternatively ShellX/AB Courrier  (1-800-663-6533) was cheaper with a flat fee of $10.67 (weekday) or $35.75 during the weekend. Though I must admit that Dish was email friendly while ShellX didn’t even have a  website (but the uber friendly guy handling the bookings made up for it!).  I recently found out that ShellX was bought out by AB Courier which is why they don’t have a website.
For those looking to donate their cord blood – Congratulations!! That is a very noble thing to do. Canada will soon have a national public bank but till then keep in mind that places like Héma-Québec (Montreal)Victoria Angel Registry of Hope Public Cord Blood Bank (Markham) and Alberta Cord Blood Bank do accept donors but the process needs to be initiated early.

  • Laurel
    February 3, 2012 at 12:54 pm

    Hey Yash,
    Nick and I decided to donate our cord blood through Victoria Angel. The process is really quite simple, it’s free and they come and pick up the kit right from your hospital bed!
    The nice woman I was speaking with explained that only about 30% of the blood that is donated is suitable to be stored in the public bank, but that the rest of it is used for research.
    Haven’t actually gone through with it yet, but it sounds pretty straight forward.
    For anyone looking into this option, you need to apply before 34 weeks (we just barely squeeked in…).

    • Yashy
      February 3, 2012 at 4:23 pm

      Glad you guys found the best option for your familY. I think it’s fantastic that you guys donated!

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