Comments on: Who’s afraid of cord blood? http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/general/whos-afraid-of-cord-blood/ An Insider's Guide to Baby Gear & Toys Thu, 24 May 2012 10:56:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Dawn http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/general/whos-afraid-of-cord-blood/comment-page-1/#comment-957 Dawn Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:21:35 +0000 http://spillingthebeans.net/?p=831#comment-957 I actually tried to donate cord blood to a public bank, but because I delivered at a birth center and there was some new regulation (or something, can't remember due to raging case of momnesia) which meant that their facility wasn't allowed to collect and send in the cord blood. For the record, there were no hospitals in my area (suburban Philadelphia) that do the public cord bank collections. Hopefully, that changes. I understand the fear factor of cord blood banking, but decided not to do private banking. I actually tried to donate cord blood to a public bank, but because I delivered at a birth center and there was some new regulation (or something, can’t remember due to raging case of momnesia) which meant that their facility wasn’t allowed to collect and send in the cord blood. For the record, there were no hospitals in my area (suburban Philadelphia) that do the public cord bank collections. Hopefully, that changes. I understand the fear factor of cord blood banking, but decided not to do private banking.

]]> By: Geoff Green http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/general/whos-afraid-of-cord-blood/comment-page-1/#comment-956 Geoff Green Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:30:46 +0000 http://spillingthebeans.net/?p=831#comment-956 That's exactly the point -- parents of newborns become hyper-vigilant about their child, so they're willing to latch onto anything that might possibly protect their child in the future, no matter how unscientific or unproven. Marketers and charlatans of all kinds have jumped on the worrying bandwagon. It's the same reason why anecdotes have triumphed over science and so many people are reluctant to get their children vaccinated. And it's the same reason why Lenore Skenazy's article on letting her nine-year-old take the subway alone in NYC raised so many parents' ire. Just look at the testimonials page on the Viacord website -- there's not a single testimonial from anyone who saved their child's cord blood and later used that cord blood to treat some illness. So people are willing to spend $2,000, plus $125 per year, because of some hypothetical usefulness for the cord blood that might arise in the future? Plus, you're also trusting the company to be able to keep the cord blood secure for the many years until you might actually need it. It's throwing good money after bad. Donate to a public cord blood registry. Those registries are doing research that might find use for these cord blood cells, and the cord blood can help other families as well, not just your own. And you're not paying some company money to advertise its services using fear. (There's a reason they spent $10 million on marketing in the second quarter of 2006, and only $3.7 million on R&D. Now that they're a subsidiary of a larger company, it wasn't easy to find more recent spending breakdowns.) That’s exactly the point — parents of newborns become hyper-vigilant about their child, so they’re willing to latch onto anything that might possibly protect their child in the future, no matter how unscientific or unproven. Marketers and charlatans of all kinds have jumped on the worrying bandwagon. It’s the same reason why anecdotes have triumphed over science and so many people are reluctant to get their children vaccinated. And it’s the same reason why Lenore Skenazy’s article on letting her nine-year-old take the subway alone in NYC raised so many parents’ ire. Just look at the testimonials page on the Viacord website — there’s not a single testimonial from anyone who saved their child’s cord blood and later used that cord blood to treat some illness. So people are willing to spend $2,000, plus $125 per year, because of some hypothetical usefulness for the cord blood that might arise in the future? Plus, you’re also trusting the company to be able to keep the cord blood secure for the many years until you might actually need it. It’s throwing good money after bad.

Donate to a public cord blood registry. Those registries are doing research that might find use for these cord blood cells, and the cord blood can help other families as well, not just your own. And you’re not paying some company money to advertise its services using fear. (There’s a reason they spent $10 million on marketing in the second quarter of 2006, and only $3.7 million on R&D. Now that they’re a subsidiary of a larger company, it wasn’t easy to find more recent spending breakdowns.)

]]> By: Kate http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/general/whos-afraid-of-cord-blood/comment-page-1/#comment-958 Kate Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:53:44 +0000 http://spillingthebeans.net/?p=831#comment-958 I think that until you have a child and it feels like you have your heart walking around outside of your body all the time, you have no idea the depths of what you would do to protect them. It's not fear, it's having the choice to give your child the best protection that you feel is necessary- and that is the given right of every parent. I think that until you have a child and it feels like you have your heart walking around outside of your body all the time, you have no idea the depths of what you would do to protect them. It’s not fear, it’s having the choice to give your child the best protection that you feel is necessary- and that is the given right of every parent.

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