X-Post: Did you... (Cord bank related)

Do cord banking with a PUBLIC cord bank?

I know a lot of girls have done PRIVATE cord banking with Viacord and such- but I wanted to do public cord banking. I did a bunch of research on it and wanted to publicly bank/donate.

Unfortunately, Good Sam doesn't participate ... grrrr. On LI, only LIJ does.

Did anyone do it nonetheless and how?
(Don't ask me to ask my ob- she told me to 'google it'. Yeah, changing ob's for next baby...)

Re: X-Post: Did you... (Cord bank related)

yes i did public banking but delivered at LIJ. im pretty sure you can only do it at a participating hospital.

Re: X-Post: Did you... (Cord bank related)

I looked into it too and from what I can tell it has to be a participating hospital. I really wanted to donate it. What a shame that they don't all participate.

Re: X-Post: Did you... (Cord bank related)

North Shore does it too (or at least did in 2008 and 2009) - that's what we did.

It's such a shame they don't all participate... if everyone donated, there wouldn't be a need to pay those atrocious rates and it would be available to everyone!

Re: X-Post: Did you... (Cord bank related)

I wanted to...but there was no way with Good Sam.

Actually- I think there IS a way- but it requires jumpint through hoops- I'll have to see if I can find the info again.


ETA: I found this info...


If your hospital doesn’t participate, then research other Public Cord Blood Banking options. Many hospitals don’t participate in the NMDP national cord-blood-donation program, so don’t be surprised if yours doesn’t. To find out if there’s a public bank nearby that will accept your donation, go to parentsguidecordblood.org (this Web site lists public banks that participate in the cord-blood registry maintained by the NMDP and other public banks that aren’t affiliated with the organization). If there are no local public banks in your area, there are two public banks that allow mail-in donations. One is Cryobanks (800-869-8608, cryo-intl.com) and the other is LifeBankUSA (877-543-3226, lifebankusa.com). Donors must meet eligibility requirements and register with their choice of bank before week 34 of pregnancy.


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I remember reading that those that will allow donations from non-participating hospitals had certain timing restrictions (like having to give birth monday-friday before certain hours)

Message edited 11/3/2011 2:12:48 PM.

Re: X-Post: Did you... (Cord bank related)

Here is some more helpful info:

Prospective Donor FAQ

This is where I read that delivery can't take place on a Friday or Saturday.

HTH

More Info



ETA:

•If your hospital does not yet participate in a cord blood donation program, contact Lifeforce Cryobanks at 800-869-8608 or enroll online. Lifeforce Cryobanks sends medical couriers that will pick-up cord blood donations from almost anywhere in the continental United States. Donors must meet eligibility requirements and register before the 35th week of pregnancy. Alternatively, check this directory to see if a public cord blood bank would make arrangements for your cord blood donation

Source

Message edited 11/3/2011 2:35:42 PM.

Re: X-Post: Did you... (Cord bank related)

Thank you girls, much appreciated!!! Gracias for the links and info.

I was literally up until 4 am trying to make sense of it all.

Unfortunately, it appears that if you are using a non-participating hospital, you have to be BEFORE 34 weeks. I am 36. Ugh. At participating hospitals, you can just ask right before labor- but with a non-participating hospital, there's a whole long intake process and testing and whatnot. While I did research it a few months back, I mistakenly assumed it was one of those things that you wait till you are further along to register and all that.

Anywho, if anyone reading this is interested in public cord banking- FIGURE IT ALL OUT BEFORE 34 WEEKS! =)