Big cost, little value? – Why 2.35 million parents have banked their children’s cord blood

Over 2 million  parents world wide (and many thousands of kiwi families) have banked their babies cord blood.

So why do they choose to pay for the service and what are the benefits?

1.      Cord blood has been used to treat cancer for the past 25 years – in NZ and around the world.

 

2.      Frances Everall was the first NZ child to use her own cord blood to treat her solid tumour cancer – and is alive today – because her family saved her cord blood with CordBank.

 

3.      Cord blood has been used to treat brain injury for the past 8 years in the US, German, Singapore and many other countries.  Read the latest study here.

 

4.      Over 500 children have benefited from using their cord blood for brain injury at Duke University alone – treated by Dr Joanne Kurtzberg.

 

5.      Maia Friedlander was the first NZ child to use her stored cord blood to treat the brain injury she suffered at birth. Her GP Dr Marcus Stone says the improvement since her treatment is significant.

 

6.      Cord blood is being used to treat diabetes at a study at Westmead hospital in Sydney Australia – read about the study here.

 

7.      International clinical trials are underway using cord blood to treat autism, brain injury, neo natal stroke and diabetes throughout the world.

8.      Families who have stored their children’s cord blood will have access to these treatments in the future – while families who have not stored them will not.

 

9.      Unlike bone marrow, which is hard to collect and painful, cord blood collection is painless and quick and safe.

 

10.  Claims made by medical experts that other types of stem cells might be able to used in the future are unproven. Cord blood stem cells are proven to be safe and when stored have no expiry date

 

11.  The only independent study on the chances of using your own cord blood was carried out by a group of internationally renouned experts including Dr J. J. Nietfeld, Marcelo C. Pasquini, and Dr Frances Verter.  You can read the study here.

 

12.  In New Zealand, Cord Bank is licensed by the Ministry of Health is collect and store cord blood.

 

13.  Over 18 years, the cost of collecting and storing cord blood works out to $1.00 a day.

 

14.  Kiwi parents have many different reasons for banking cord blood. Read them here.