I gave birth to our Yael last August 2015. A month before that, our kind and amiable OB Gynecologist gave us a few documents to review. It was about cord blood banking.
Our first picture together just a few minutes after Yael’s birth.
Husband and I totally did not understand its concept until she patiently explained it to us. 5 facts about Cord Blood Banking:
1. What is cord blood?
Cord blood is the blood in the baby’s umbilical cord. It is full of life-saving stem cells that are useful to help treat numerous diseases and disorders like leukemia, cancer, and even autism.
2. How is cord blood collected?
Right after giving birth and when the umbilical cord has been cut, the cord blood is collected. The doctor will insert a needle into the umbilical vein still attached to the placenta and will drain about one to five ounces of blood into a collection bag. Our OB Gyne reassured it is pain-free for both the mother and the baby and will last for about ten minutes. The collected cord blood will then be stored in a cord blood bank for future use.
3. What is cord blood banking?
After the extraction, the blood will be shipped to a cord blood bank. It was explained to us that we could either donate our baby’s cord blood to a public cord blood bank for anyone’s use or we could pay to store it in a family cord blood bank for our family’s use. The cord blood will be tested, processed, and preserved by controlled freezing until needed.
4. What is the importance of cord blood banking?
Cord blood is a rich source of blood stem cells. Stem cells are the building blocks of the blood and immune system. They have the ability to develop into other types of cells, so they can help repair tissues, organs, and blood vessels. It can also be used to treat a number of diseases and disorders like cancers, leukemia, cerebral palsy and even autism.
5. How long can cord blood be stored?
Science shows cord blood can be stored for over 22.5 years, giving one’s family peace of mind. Stem cells taken from the baby’s umbilical cord are a definite match to that baby and most likely suitable to his siblings as well.
Our OB Gyne added that about 35,000 cord blood stem cell transplants have been performed worldwide — most likely the same number of lives saved by this one simple decision.
There is only one opportunity to collect and store the umbilical cord blood and that is only during the birth of a child. Unused cord blood is disregarded as medical waste, thus banking cord blood is a one chance decision. And one responsible cord blood and tissue banking service provider in the country is Cordlife Philippines.
Cordlife Philippines has established a proven track record of reliable cord blood banking services. It guarantees that the baby’s cord blood will be screened, processed, and stored following the strictest international quality assurance standards.
Again, I gave birth last year. My son is now turning one this August. And I am assured that nothing will happen to him today or in the near future because the good Lord will bless our family. We’ve just donated my son’s umbilical cord blood after his birth.
Cord blood is the perfect tissue match to your child and most likely suitable to his siblings, too. It is a one-chance, one-choice act only that could save your child or others. Call Cordlife Philippines now and invest in your kid’s future or be a hero for others.
Momi Berlin’s Directory:
Cordlife Philippines Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Wow this is amazing! I honestly have never heard of cord blood donating. I donated blood once and I fainted afterwards hehe not a good experience butttt I know I will be donating cord blood in the future when I have a baby. Life saving <3
Indeed life saving.
Hi, Berlin. Did you avail of the blood bank? How much was it?
I didnt pay for it as we decided to donate it instead.
Nice pa rin. 🙂 This is not the same as umbelical cord bank no?
I believe they are the same. 🙂
That is really interesting to know about! I had no idea that cord blood was so useful. And even if one cannot afford to keep it in a bank, you can donate it to others. Good for you for donating!
Yes, though i would like to keep it for our use, i would rather donate it as i fell and know we will never gonna use it anyway.
When my son was born 19 years ago, this is not available yet. It’s good we have medical advancement like this one.
Yes, i also appreciate this kind of advancement. Either for your kids or for others.
Great information! I didn’t know about this ha.. Will save this for future use hihi
airinaapril.blogspot.com
Not aware as well. Buti our kind OB gyne opened the topic to us.
Amazing information. Never though that how this ‘never been heard’ process can save one’s future. We need more awareness on this.
I agree with you re the awareness. I hope Cordlife would stage an awareness campaign and hospitals would support the act or event.
My sister’s name is Yael! Beautiful name 🙂
This post you wrote is very important, not a lot of people know this life saving information.
I hope it will reaches as many people as possible.
I hope so too that every parent would know the importance of cord blood and how it could be a real gem in the future should the need arises. .
I’ve randomly heard about cord blood but I didn’t have much info’ about it until now. It’s very useful and thank you for sharing those informations. I’m not much into children for now to be honest. But I already know I’ll give everything that can be taken when I die, so if I have the opportunity, I’ll also donate Cord blood.
Thats such a noble intention. The cord blood can be donated or banked for your family’s future use if the need arises.
Wow!! What a great information! Will save this one for future preferences.
Thank you. Yes, it might be helpful in the future or you may also share it with friends and relatives who are about to give birth.
So nice of your doctor for patiently explaining the information. I only knew cord blood banking through blog posts like yours, sayang nadonate sana namin yung sa min.
Yes, shes the sweetest. Oo nga, if we only knew earlier. But then it wouldnt hurt to spread the word so others would know about cord blood banking.
That’s nice of you to donate your child’s cord blood. It’s wonderful that there are medical advances like this already. Parents who have the means to invest in these kinds of procedures can avail of it for their family. It’s just a bit costly so many still cannot have access to this.
Thank you. I just hope that aside from our ob gyne, there would be more awareness of this kind of services. Its such a beautiful program to be missed.
Thank you. Yes, if only we knew earlier no?
I think availing of the blood bank is quite expensive, from where I gave birth (Medical City) , it’s around 40 or 50k. That is why I wasn’t able to give mine, I thought it was the only way around as I really didn’t understand much about it. 🙁 Good thing you donated yours! 🙂
I also gave birth at Medical City. From our experience, I wasnt aware before that you could keep it as an investment as it was explained to us that we could donate it. Anyway, we still cant afford the 40 -50K but if thats the amount you need to pay them, I guess its still worth it. At Cordlife, I believe the starting amount is P8,000 only.
You can donate it pala. I didn’t know that. Hehe. It’s good that you were able to. 🙂
I wasn’t aware before na you could bank it for your own safety. Akala ko naman donate lang. Nway, its for a good cause naman si ok lang 🙂
How much do cord blood banking services cost? I’ll recommend this to my sister-in-law who is due to give birth this August.
I believe it is around P8,000 per year. Its a decision your brother and sister-in-law would definitely not regret.
I hope they can make cord banking more affordable in the future. The positives of cord banking outweight the cost, but for many this is simply a far too costly option.
I understand. Its a bit costly still. I am one with you re adjusting the cost.
Thanks for sharing this information Berlin! I’ve been curious as to what cord blood banking is about I’ve seen this kasi when we go to Bunny’s check up in Asian in Alabang. Might consider it when we get preggo again sayang kasi it wasn’t mentioned to me by my ob before.
Sayang no when we only learned of it and its too late. But you could always do it naman sa next pregnancy. And I hope it would be soon. Surely the little Bunny is waiting for her baby brother/sister.
Heard about it from a forum kaso alam ko nga na mahal siya so hindi ako naging interesado hehe. Will consider it nalang sa next baby.
Yes, its an investment. No one would regret enrolling m, i guess.
Beautifully explained. The cord blood banking concept is a very recent development in healthcare and hopefully, it will save a lot of lives all over the world.
Thank you. I also believe its a worthy investment.
My OB did not explained this to us when I have birth 8 years ago. Is it expensive?
We werent informed how much. For donating it though, there’s no fee to worry about.