baby question: cord blood?

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So some of you know we are having a baby ("we" being my wife and I, and not me and all of you). This is a bit overwhelming though it wasn't unexpected. But what was unexpected was a bunch of other shit that gets foisted on you the second places find out you're having a kid: college trust funds, etc. One thing I'd never even heard about was cord blood banks; they can store blood from the umbilical cord and use it to treat anything that can be treated with stem cells. It costs and arm and a leg. But I'm also a complete hypochondriac and paranoid. I had pretty much decided this wasn't worth it since we have no family history of diseases of this sort until I found out our friends were doing it (they only did it because they stumbled upon some extra money, however). So I appeal to the parents of ILX: is this a waste of time? is it worth it for the peace of mind? Do you think they'll take the stem cells and build a clone of our baby and put it on an island somewhere?

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

Would that be a good or bad thing?

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

I'm a recent first-time father and I've never even heard of this. If the pregnancy is going smoothly and there's no family history of disease, I'd just relax. You'll have enough other things to worry about.

― jz, Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

How ridiculously expensive is it?
Do I get to see the ultrasound pics? WEill you post them?

― Klaus Darko (nordicskilla), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)

Will it go to Cal?

― Klaus Darko (nordicskilla), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

We donated the cord blood when both ours were born.

― Jaq (Jaq), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

it is about $2k upfront and then around $100 a year for storage afterward, which isn't really that ridiculously expensive.

You can see ultrasound pics at your house. They are not very exciting yet.

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

our house, I meant

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

Do it.

You guys can show me your ultrasound pics and I'll show you the quicktime of my MRI.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

We donated the cord blood when both ours were born.

-- Jaq

this was a donation then, right, not storage for yourself?

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

Yes.

― Jaq (Jaq), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

if enough people donate, then no-one should have to store for themselves, one day, yes? also, from what I can tell, this might take the place of having to do a bone marrow transplant in the case of leukemia, but why wouldn't we be able to just donate bone marrow in that case? am I a fear monger?

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

I'm just wondering if you will ever be able to relax if you DON'T do this.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)

I think it's basically like Walt Disney's head in a freezer: you might, just might, benefit from it but nobody knows how at this time. I would pass and buy the little one some savings bonds with the money saved.

― andy --, Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)

It sounds like the sort of thing I always think is a good idea but don't want to pay for - like opting out of LoJack when we bought our car.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)

I'm just wondering if you will ever be able to relax if you DON'T do this.

i will never be able to relax ever again anyway

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)

yes I thought about loJack to! and that was a rip! I'm glad I didn't pay for that.

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)

Then I think you should buy a daddy and baby massage chair instead.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)

i should buy daddy a les paul!

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

I think it's basically like Walt Disney's head in a freezer: you might, just might, benefit from it but nobody knows how at this time.

i'm banking on benefitting from Walt's head soon!

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

If I were you I would get it a subscription to Film Comment and a Pacific FIlm Archive membership. A healthy intellectual life means a healthy baby.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)

that's really cool that you can donate cord blood, i didn't know that.

cord blood banks have been around for several years now, i know someone who was investing in them for a while and then got out because, well, limitations on stem cell testing are going to seriously slow down the potential usefulness of this stuff.

it just seems too expensive, but donating is a great idea.

― Juulia (julesbdules), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

testing, research, whatever.

― Juulia (julesbdules), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:57 (twenty years ago)

id do it if only to avoid this possible future conversation:

some guy: "dude! i just got some shitty disease!'
your kid: "oh hey! i got the same one"
some guys: "thank god for those stemcells my moms put in the bank"
your kid:
your kid:
your kid:
your kid: "shit"

― sunny successor (katharine), Thursday, 15 December 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

Kyle, I'm a hypochondriac as well, but this seems a bit expensive and pointless: You don't know if you/your children will ever need it. By the time you may need it, some other advances may have been made.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Thursday, 15 December 2005 18:03 (twenty years ago)

We decided against it -- just couldn't cost-justify it given the low probability that the blood would ever be needed. I don't know anyone personally who's decided in favor of it.

― Jeff Wright (JeffW1858), Thursday, 15 December 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)

OK, I have VERY strong opinions on this. What the commercial cord-blood-bankers don't tell you is that paying to bank the blood won't do you any good if the kid himself/herself develops a problem; it only helps _siblings_. Also, if you donate the cord blood to the Red Cross (which we did), they keep track of it, and if your kid's sibling turns out to need it later and they still have it (which is likely), then you can still use it. Donated, it stands a chance of saving someone else's child's life, too.

You should contact the hospital and the Red Cross in advance and let them know that you want to donate it; they don't automatically have someone on call at all hospitals.

― Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 15 December 2005 19:26 (twenty years ago)

What the commercial cord-blood-bankers don't tell you is that paying to bank the blood won't do you any good if the kid himself/herself develops a problem; it only helps _siblings

really? this is pretty much NOT what the thing we got in the mail said.

I'm leaning toward not doing this, btw.

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

yeah my impression was that banking would only benefit other family members, not the donating child herself.

― Miss Misery xox (MissMiseryTX), Thursday, 15 December 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

that's good to know, since this kid is not going to have any siblings if we have anything to do about it.

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 15 December 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

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