1. Not very valuable. Handling and storage costs far outweigh acquisition costs.
2. Unmatched, easy; well matched, somewhat difficult.
3. Generally it depends on the specific inherited immune characteristics of mother and child, similar to these factors in kidney donation.
4. For decades, yes, for a lifetime no.
5⁄6 No and sort of yes.
If you are going to donate cord blood for others, as a humanitarian thing, check with your OB/GYN about whether they know who would need to be there to ship the donation.
If you are going to save it for family use, I would do so only if you are aware of a known risk requiring use of such a donation in the baby or family, such as an inherited blood disorder or similar risk factor. If there is none, the cost-effectiveness of banking with a commercial outfit is poor unless you have inexpensive access to a liquid nitrogen-level freezer for long term storage. If the family has such an inherited disorder, check with the physicians treating it for instructions.
1. Not very valuable. Handling and storage costs far outweigh acquisition costs.
2. Unmatched, easy; well matched, somewhat difficult.
3. Generally it depends on the specific inherited immune characteristics of mother and child, similar to these factors in kidney donation.
4. For decades, yes, for a lifetime no.
5⁄6 No and sort of yes.
If you are going to donate cord blood for others, as a humanitarian thing, check with your OB/GYN about whether they know who would need to be there to ship the donation.
If you are going to save it for family use, I would do so only if you are aware of a known risk requiring use of such a donation in the baby or family, such as an inherited blood disorder or similar risk factor. If there is none, the cost-effectiveness of banking with a commercial outfit is poor unless you have inexpensive access to a liquid nitrogen-level freezer for long term storage. If the family has such an inherited disorder, check with the physicians treating it for instructions.