We all know there are a million things to check off your to-do list when you’re expecting! Trying to figure out what to do with your baby’s stem cells, while important to do before the big day, can be time consuming – and confusing. Most soon-to-be moms aren’t even aware there are different options regarding cord blood banking. Thankfully, Barb Dehn, a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner*, discusses various options to review in this BabyCenter article.

Put simply, here are the 4 options of what you can do with your baby’s cord blood stem cells:

• Save them for your family. You can choose to keep them for future medical use by your child or a family member, if needed.
• Donate them for public use. Like donating blood, you may donate you baby’s stem cells for use by an unrelated patient who needs them. You can check this list to see if your hospital participates in the national donor program and the acceptance criteria.
• Save them for a family member in need. Your family may be eligible for free cord blood banking** if a full sibling or biological parent to your newborn has been diagnosed with a disease or disorder currently treatable with stem cells or your baby has a qualifying medical need through programs such as CBR’s Newborn Possibilities Program®.
• Discard them as medical waste. If you do not choose to save or donate them, your child’s cord blood stem cells will not be saved for potential future medical use.

Here’s hoping that the cliff notes to your cord blood banking options was long enough to enjoy a cup of soothing tea, but not so long that you had to catch a cat nap in the interim.

Disclaimers:

*Barb Dehn, NP, is a paid consultant of CBR.

**CBR is not responsible for fees charged by your healthcare provider or a hospital associated with the collection of your newborn’s cord blood sample.