Blood Cord Banking

screenshot a few days ago

Less than a hundred days to go until I give birth and we're slowly preparing for the arrival of our Baby Bunny (yup, that's our baby's pet name :p).

Source

One of the major decisions we have to make is to whether to collect our baby's cord blood or not. The cord blood is the blood left in the placenta and umbilical cord. It contains stem cells than can turn into different cells and could help treat cerebral palsy, sickle cell anemia, and other immune-related diseases. There is also a possibility that it can cure diabetes and other types of cancer in the future. Those who are genetic matches with our baby can also benefit from the cord blood.

So why the hesitation? First of all, it costs A LOT and it is an investment. I think the initial payment will cost around 50,000 pesos (around a thousand dollars) and 8,000 pesos for the annual storage fee every year. The stem cells from the cord blood can only be used for one treatment but will the investment be worth it?