7 Critical Questions in Finding the Best Cord Blood Bank
This may come as a surprise...but not all Cord Blood Banks are the same. Choosing the wrong one, can mean losing your baby's vital, life-saving umbilical cord blood.
Are you a pregnant mother or an expecting parent? You have one shot at storing your baby's cord blood and that is at birth. So, it is crucial to ask some very important questions when searching for the best cord blood bank. I will walk through 7 critical questions to ask in finding the very best cord blood bank to store your baby's cord blood.
How long has the cord blood bank been in business?
You should look for a provider that has been in business for a reasonable time. Since the cord blood industry is relatively new, you won't find anyone that has been in business over 20years. If the cord blood bank has been around for at least 5 years, you are probably going to be able to see some great testimonials from other parents who have banked with that company. Anything less than 5 years, and you may be taking a chance. Remember, this is your baby's life-blood, you don't need to risk it with a start-up company.
How much cord blood transplant experience do they have?
Asking the company to share with you, how much actual transplant experience that they have is very important. This is the experience they have in providing actual cord blood units to research facilities and physicians, performing the cord blood transplants. A cord blood bank that has this experience and a good track record, also has the relationships and trust of the medical and research communities.
How do they transport your baby's cord blood?
You will want to find out, not only what method that the bank uses to ship the cord blood, but also, what do they ship the cord blood in? Are they using a private, reputable courier service? How much experience does the service have with deliveries of this nature? Some companies offer temperature controlled shipping containers. This might be a very important factor if all else is equal in your search.
What does their collection process consist of?
How do they process the cord blood unit? Find out, on a scientific level, what methods they use to process each unit? Are these methods different from the other banks? Some banks discard some of the unit before freezing. Others add special agents to help the longevity of the cord blood in storage. Do a comparison to see what elements are the same and which are different with each bank. What claims are made as to the advantages in each of the differences?
Do they offer both private and public cord blood storage?
Facilities that offer both public and private banking, have a great advantage over those that just offer private or "family" bankning. They have additional research being done. There is typically government funding behind the public bank, which can be important in this economy. You need to know that the operation has significant financial backing, come what may.
What is the company's insurance policy for a lost or damaged Cord Blood Unit?
This may be the single most important question of all. What does the bank offer you if they mishandle, lose, damage or if, "an Act of God". destroys your baby's cord blood unit? Are they merely offering you some money? How much money? Do they offer alternative transplant options if your baby needs the procedure? Some banks that provide both public and private cord blood banking, offer an insurance policy where they will attempt to match your child's cord blood from their own public bank.
Where are they located?
Location can play an important role in making your final decision. If the cord blood banks match up pretty evenly, take a look at where the storage facility is located. Are you in California and they only have one location in New York? That would be quite a few hours on a flight, that your baby's cord blood unit would need to travel. If , you are torn between two banks and all else is equal, having a storage facility in your back yard might help you make the final call.
------------------------------------------------------------ If you take a little time to do some brief research, you can answer each of these questions very clearly. Unfortunately, my wife and I just used a discount-coupon that our doctor gave us and we went with that service, without asking more questions. I mean, it was a recommendation from our doctor right? Well, they usually give the coupon, because they get a $200+ collection fee from YOU and another $200+ "referral" fee from the cord blood bank. If we had asked these basic questions, we would have learned that there was indeed a better solution out there, that offered all of these benefits. We just didn't ask.
Now put these questions into play when you are doing your resarch and you will be very happy and extremely confident with your final decision in determining the absolute best cord blood bank for YOU.
Trust me, you do NOT want to experience, "buyer's remorse", when dealing with your baby's life-saving umbilical cord blood!
Jim Davis is dedicated to helping parents make
the most-informed decisions about umbilical cord
blood bankiing. Click NOW for crtical information and a chance to
win FREE Cord Blood Banking! Cord Blood - http://www.infinitycordblood.com
