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Another one for mums 2 be - Stem Cell Collection

STEM CELL COLLECTION AT BIRTH

Hi, being 26 weeks pregnant we have just started looking into this and have sent off for some brochures.

It seems like a great, once in a life time opportunity although it is very expensive (between £1k and £1.5k from what I can gather from initial research).

I'm going to carry on with my research and just wondered if anybody had actually done this before or if anybody has any thoughts they would be kind enough to share.

Thanks

Felicity.
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Comments

  • Justie
    Justie Posts: 1,768 Forumite
    is this storing stem cells for possible future use for the baby?

    Our hospital is linked to one of the big research hospitals so I think we have the option to donate cells for research but not sure there's an option to store them. If we can then I'll donate but I don't think I'll bother storing them if the technology works then I'm sure there'll be other ways of doing the same thing should the need arise.
  • Curious_George_2
    Curious_George_2 Posts: 2,501 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    from what ive heard its very expensive to do, even more expense with the annual storage and god forbid should the time come where you might need them, they may not actually be any use as the research is still relatively new....

    but as i said, thats only what ive heard, ive not done any research on it myself
  • benood
    benood Posts: 1,398 Forumite
    Hi - we did this for our 3rd in 2004 and will collect again for our 4th this October, however, as our 2nd had leukemia (now doing well) we've got a greater than average chance of actually needing/using the cord blood for a bone marrow transplant.

    If it hadn't been for our brush with cancer I don't think we would bother - we'd probably let the hospital collect the cells and put them into the national bank. If we'd collected our 2nd's cells they wouldn't have been used for a BMT but it might have resulted in the leukemia being spotted immediately (he was diagnosed at 2 months).

    Cost wise it's about £1500 which includes 25 yrs storage (we used cryocare- now called smart cells) - you can get cheaper but storage is about £50pa on top. I think the NHS is much more set up for it now - despite talking it through beforehand with the consultant we had a registrar asking us about the ethics and the kit we received was rather light on instructions.
  • Felicity
    Felicity Posts: 1,064 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Thanks for your replies.

    Benood, I wasn't sure from your message if you were planning to use your collected stems in the future or not but you obviously feel it was worth it if you are doing it again.

    I am really wrestling with it now. If the developments are made in the future it could be the best gift we ever give our newly born child so how can we not do it? On the other hand, it seems that future developments may mean that we can use anybodys stem cells and we dont need to store the cells under individual names.

    When our baby is born we were going to buy a piece of art to celebrate the occassion (I am not really into jewellery which I believe is a more traditional gift to the new mother) but I might spend the money on cell collection instead.

    I would still be interested to hear other points of view.
  • inkie
    inkie Posts: 2,609 Forumite
    Mortgage-free Glee!
    Also to bear in mind is that some hospitals are now bringing in policies which prevents their staff taking cord-blood if non-clinically indicated (i.e. in this case). This would mean that the company concerned would have to send a phlebotomist out, adding to the cost.
  • Js_Other_Half
    Js_Other_Half Posts: 3,116 Forumite
    We considered it, but eventually decided not to. Another friend of ours ( a vet) said there was so much research going on at the moment around stem cells that he felt it wasn't worth worrying about. He may have been right, as this article in the Daily Mail says that they can grow stem cells from fallen out baby teeth!
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=462335&in_page_id=1770
    The IVF worked;DS born 2006.
  • benood
    benood Posts: 1,398 Forumite
    Hi - we only plan to use them if our son's leukemia relapses in which case they might come in handy for a bone marrow transplant - in our case it keeps options open - they could be the best possible match without the sibling actually needing to donate.
  • Cissi
    Cissi Posts: 1,131 Forumite
    Felicity wrote: »
    it could be the best gift we ever give our newly born child so how can we not do it?

    It's worth bearing in mind that if your child should ever need a bone marrow transplant due to cancer - the most likely scenario for using cord blood - his/her own cord blood could not be used, as Benood said (since it would carry the disease). It might be used for a sibling, providing that they're a match. So it's not in fact a gift for your newly born child, but rather for potential siblings.

    Personally I wouldn't incur the expense, although I would consider donating cord blood to a bank, for the use of other people who may need it, if the possibility was offered.
  • Don't forget that if you are harvesting stem cells from the cord, it will usually have to be clamped and cut immediately. This means that the baby will not receive the amount of oxygenated blood that is contained in the cord and can form a large percentage of the baby's blood volume.

    It may be worth reading up on natural as opposed to managed third stage of labour and the pros and cons of each as this may affect your choice.

    http://www.sarahjbuckley.com/articles/leaving-well-alone.htm

    Hope this helps
    "Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it. Don't wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee."
  • benood
    benood Posts: 1,398 Forumite
    Don't forget that if you are harvesting stem cells from the cord, it will usually have to be clamped and cut immediately. This means that the baby will not receive the amount of oxygenated blood that is contained in the cord and can form a large percentage of the baby's blood volume.

    It may be worth reading up on natural as opposed to managed third stage of labour and the pros and cons of each as this may affect your choice.

    http://www.sarahjbuckley.com/articles/leaving-well-alone.htm

    Hope this helps

    I'm not sure that this is right - in our case the cord was clamped and cut no sooner or later than it would have been had we not been collecting the cells.
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