A couple of months ago I posted about our dilemma with our choice with what to do with our babies cord blood. Should we do private or public? If we choose public, which company should we go with? Well we went back and forth for a while on this, and did a bunch of research. To be honest the research got us nowhere. Each side had good arguments, and we were left more confused then when we started. Basically, it seemed that the bottom line was that although the cord blood research COULD be the best thing since sliced bread, it’s just not there yet. BUT…that being said, do we want to risk not doing it? The answer is NO. So we decided to look at it as an insurance policy. A policy that we hope we never have to use, but at least we know that it’s there should we need it. We therefore decided to go the private bank route.
It really was a rough decision, and our doctor helped us make it. He basically told us that if we aren’t going to go broke by doing private then he recommends it. He used the insurance policy reference, and made it clear that he didn’t believe the technology was there just yet. But, he also reminded us that no one can predict the future, so if we can, we should insure our child and possibly future children. When we asked his thoughts on the two biggest ones…Viacord, and CBR….he told us both are great and either one would be a good choice. At this point we decided we would go the private route. Now which one to choose?
As it turns out both are very similar in price. With out discounts about $2200, with a $125/year storage fee. (oh ya and the $350 the doctor charges to collect it. Be sure to be aware of that one!) It seems steep at first, but is it really when you are talking about your child’s health? I had information on both, and bit the bullet and decided to go with Cord Blood Registry . Why you may ask? Well the first reason is that my best friend recommended it. (can’t go wrong with a good review) The main reason? They called me alot and cared about my business. Yup! That’s the truth. The woman at CBR called me every few weeks to see how I was doing. I liked that. I’m in sales and I like when people value my business, and that is the main reason I went with CBR. On the medical side they brag that they are able to collect more stem cells than Viacord due to new technology. They also offer cord tissue collection, but we decided not to go with that at this time. In the end I liked the customer service, for me it goes a long way.
Woo hoo another decision made! It really makes me feel good when I can check something off the list. Now all I have to remember is to bring the collection kit with me when I go into labor. lol we’ll see how that goes!
I’ve been thinking about this too… how does the public system work? Does it cost the same? It’s such a steep price, so I’m not really sure about it.
Congrats on making your decision!
Public system is free ? but you aren’t guarunteed your babies cord blood should you need it. Someone else who matches with it can use it…also, if you deliver on the weekend I hear there is no one there to collect it. But if you don’t do private then I would definitely do the public option.
I am glad for you that you were able to make a decision. I agree that private banking is the way to go if you can afford it, even if the technology is not totally there yet. It is only a matter of time and it will be there. I also agree that if you can’t do private, then public is the next best thing. It will definitely benefit someone.