Every time I would go to a prenatal checkup I saw the brochure to bank cord blood. Mark and I talked about it and read about it. But ultimately we didn’t think it made sense. If your cells had gone haywire, why would you need your own same haywire cells? You would want someone else’s. So, why pay for it for years and years? read once where it said that we should all just collectively bank our cord blood for whoever would need it. Then I did what I so often do. Forgot about it.
Now, a friend just sent me to Be the Match and there was a whole thing about donating your baby’s cord blood in order to save lives. In light of Hunter’s death, I’m more aware of the need for this. Hunter did get a bone marrow transplant, but maybe some other child could be saved by cord blood. If you are expecting, check it out. I wish I had.
I did not bank my first sons cord blood but did with our second. Both of my parents have/had blood cancers and figured I can’t NOT do it. Plus it may help my dad someday if they come up with a stem cell treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
I’m the same, that I can’t NOT do it. My husband is adopted and we have no idea of his medical history. I figure I’d rather fork over the money for the banking and deal with never using it (or perhaps donating it now, thanks Daphne) than dealing with the guilt of wishing I had banked it but didn’t. Kind of like an insurance policy; hope I never need it but thank goodness it’s there if I do.