Cordblood

[Carol C Brown]

What's your view on this ?
We are thinking about it,but I heard from the nurse that if anything go wrong with the bloodcord , those storage company are not taking the responsibility.
I know it's like buying insurance , you dont want it to be happen but just in case.
My friend's brother is a Dr. and he doesnt recommend it

 

[Mama moo]

Hi Carol,

I've recently obtained some info from Cordlife and Healthbaby. My husband and I are still considering about storing our baby's cord blood when he's born. I had a meeting with one of the consultant from Cordlife recently and was told HK$ 1,500 enrollment fee is required to be paid before proceeding with any testing with the maternal blood.
Once the blood is tested and confirmed free from infectious disease tests - HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Cytomegalovirus, Syphillis and HTLV, 2nd payment HK$ 10,500 processing and testing fee is required. We were advised by the consultant, should anything went wrong with the maternal blood testing, Cordlife will waive the processing & testing fee of HK$10,500. The fees varied from 5 years plan up to 18 years plan.

I think the idea of storing cord blood is important for our next generation, considering the number of disease can be treated. However, I'm yet to meet anyone whom have had their baby's cord blood stored.

May I ask what was the reason your Doctor friend did not recommend this?

 

[teresahui]

I stored my first son's cord blood 2 yrs ago with Healthy Baby. I am now having a 2nd one and wonder if I need to store his cord blood again. Can my first son's cord blood be used for the 2nd one in case in need?

 

[Carol C Brown]

Mama Moo , Thanks for your info
I wasnt taking about the processing & testing fee , was on about if anything go wrong with the cordblood during that 18yrs , they wont take the blame , (touch wood) at the time we need to use it ..it's not about the $$ , I just dont know which one to trust , and i dont know if it happen to anyone ( the blood cell go wrong and they cant use it when they need to )
Can you ask the question for me when u meet your consultant?
The Dr. friend didnt recommend it is because he think if it meant to be happen , u cant avoid it. And the cordblood doesnt treat all the illness anyway...i guess its like some people buy insurance and some dont

 

[siufanw]

my Dr recommended me to store cordblood stem cells as it can treat more than 90 diseases over the past 10 years. He said that with the advanced technology, more complicated diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, DM, Lupus etc could be treated by cordblood stem cells in the near future.

it's just like buying an insurance, in case it can be used to treat a disorder later...(touchwood...)

but the difference is there is only a chance to collect my child's cord blood, undoubtedly i dun wanna miss it.

This month i had joined 3 talks organized by Healthbaby, Cryolife and Cordlife. Both my husband and i prefer chosing Healthbaby as it adopts the most advanced storage system which can maintain stable temperature and stem cell viability

BTW, the consultant of healthbaby told me that all $$ including enrollment fee will be refunded if Dr/ nurse contaminated the cordblood.

 

[Fisona]

Thanks for sharing the information as my baby is due Decemeber and we are now thinking whether to store the cordblood or not.

We definitely prefer Healthbaby as they seemed professional when we visited their counter in the baby expo in Aug.

In terms of fees, the whole package cost about HKD 30K.

I also have the same concern as Carol C Brown, what if the company goes bankrupt during the 18 years. When we were children, there was no such thing and we are still grown up healthy & good.

But when I have a second thought, the world's changing and we simply can't compare our childhood life to our babies.

So as long as we can afford it, I'd prefer storing the cord blood to purchasing an actual insurance for my baby. I think at the end we will probably agree to it. ^L^

 

[cesh]

check the terms of the contracts they offer. We have chosen Cordlife and there is a clause that explains and even lets you choose what happens to the cells if they go bankrupt. We also have a choice to move our cells to another company or country at any stage - the costs vary, but we still have "ownership".

 

[siufanw]

Thanks for sharing the information as my baby is due Decemeber and we are now thinking whether to store the cordblood or not.

We definitely prefer Healthbaby as they seemed professional when we visited their counter in the baby expo in Aug.

In terms of fees, the whole package cost about HKD 30K.

I also have the same concern as Carol C Brown, what if the company goes bankrupt during the 18 years. When we were children, there was no such thing and we are still grown up healthy & good.

But when I have a second thought, the world's changing and we simply can't compare our childhood life to our babies.

So as long as we can afford it, I'd prefer storing the cord blood to purchasing an actual insurance for my baby. I think at the end we will probably agree to it. ^L^

Dear Fisona,

Agree! i'm going to purchase the services provided by Healthbaby as it seems much more professional than Cryolife and Cordlife.

I had already asked the consultant of healthbaby that what if the company goes bankrupt. From the storage services agreement, it states that Healthbaby will take the responsibility and transfer clients' cordblood samples to a blood bank chosen by baby's parents. Healthbaby will bear the neccessary expenses. So no worry.

Although the Healthbaby storage fee is higher, it's worth storing my baby's treasurable cordblood in a cordblood bank with reliability and responsibility.

 

[lorraine]

I've been doing some research myself too and still debating on whether to store my baby's cord blood. Yeah, I went to the expo in August too and there were a few companies that I had in mind.

It's funny how you say Healthbaby will 'bear' the burden of the fees in transfering all the cordblood to another company. If they go bankrupt, I'm not too sure if they will even have the money to pay off their debts.

If I can recall from my visit, Cordlife was the only company who seemed more professional and was also a listed company. Not only were their consultants friendly but they were also very knowledgable. They explained everything from top to bottom and wasn't forcing you to purchase something (unlike others).

MY doctor did recommend me to store the cordblood too. I'm still having deep thoughts about it. Nice to see other's views though.

 

[NewBunny]

Thanks, all, for your valuable info. I, too, am considering which company to use in HK as this service is highly recommended by my Dr.

Just curious if any of you may have looked into the success stories of these companies? The main reason being that I was initially tempted to use Smart Cells since they have successes in Asian countries (e.g. Singapore); however, my Dr. alerted me that their storage is in UK, being the only down side.

Feedback and thoughts would be appreciated.