Should I store cord blood just for my own family?
The chance of any child developing a disease that can be treated by a transplant has been estimated at less than 1 in 10,000; some experts say even less. Also, we would almost never use a child's own cord blood for a transplant for childhood leukemia because the leukemia would almost certainly be in the cord blood too! As a result storing your child's own cord blood is really only worthwhile when there is a child in the family who already has, or has had, leukemia or some other disease which can be treated by a transplant. Under these circumstances there is a one-in-four chance that the new baby will be a perfect match for his or her sick brother or sister and a one-in-four chance is definitely worth going for. Any family in this situation should talk to their child's doctor to discuss all options including cord blood banking. You can also have your doctor contact us, or your nearest Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Program. If you are not in this special, very high risk group but decide to bank cord blood for your family anyway, there are private companies which will bank your cord blood for a fee. These fees can be quite steep and, with a new baby on the way, you should ask yourself if perhaps there might not be better ways you can spend that money.
