[RebeccaMB]

any experiences with banking your cord blood in HK? feelings towards "cryolife", etc. alternatively, anyone sent their cord blood back to their "home country" for "banking"?

thx
R

[shri]

We've used Cryolife. Cant say we're happy or we're unhappy as the proof of their services can only be got in the unfortunate event that you may need to use the blood.

Give me a couple of days (busy as hell @ work) to dig up some of the research we'd done on cord blood banking and cryolife.

[suz]

I asked my dr about this and in a nutshell she told me that unless I have a family history of blod-related deseases/cancer etc, then I am in the low risk group and therefore the chance that I or anyone in my immediate family who could use the cord blood is quite minimal. I gave the matter some thought and decided against it in the end.

[suz]

oh.... and since Crayo life only offers "storage" service and does not guarantee that the cord blood is useable or there is sufficient cord blood for whatever use, I just did not think that it was worth it.... just personal opinion...

[Sophie Bland]

I saved the stem cells when I had my daughter in March. We used Cryo.care, which is a UK company.

http://www.geobaby.com/Hong_Kong/Hea...Cryo_Care_L373

[babyblue]

I went to the Red Cross Hong Kong website and saw that pregnant mothers can donate cord blood to Red Cross so that it can be used for people who may need it. If I knew of this, I would have donated my cord blood.

Of course, this is different from the private cord banks because you "lose" your right to your cord blood, but unless you have a family history of blood related diseases, the chances of your children needing the cord blood is not high.

If you are interested there are details on www.redcross.org.hk. You might be able to help people out there who may benefit from your cord blood and it's painless.

[RebeccaMB]

i wish i'd thought of this! Our son made his appearance on Sept8th, so it's too late for us now ... but again somthing to think about/consider in the future...
Rebecca

[simms]

Here are the requirements to register for donating cord blood to the Red Cross bank...

...If she, her husband and children have no history of cancers.
...There is no history of Haemoglobinopathy, Immunodeficiency, Coagulopathy, Metabolic diseases and blood cancers within her or her husband's immediate family.
...She is healthy and without any history of infection and has not received any clotting factor concentrate, organ or tissue transplant.
...She has not spent three or more cumulative months in the UK between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1996.
....She agrees to provide BTS with a blood sample for infection marker testing according to the international standards.
...She is willing to provide BTS with the baby's full name, identity number and health information.

I would encourage everyone to donate to this bank - but it looks like it's impossible for us Brits. I guess this is a BSE thing?