Interestingly enough, our first cord blood experience was with Menschi. While I was pregnant, I learned that post birth, the placenta and cord blood would ordinarily be discarded as medical waste, when in actuality it could hold the key to a child's recovery. Cord blood's "primitiveness" can regenerate whole immune systems necessary for curing chronic diseases like leukemia, anemia, and immune system disorders.
It seems that most people are unaware that publilc bank donation exists free of charge. While no guarantees can be made for retrieving your own child's blood should the need arise (if banked publicly), it is a possibility. Public cord blood banks typically use the oldest blood first, leaving the option that your child's blood could still be available if they or a sibling had an early childhood disease. I would not donate publicly for this specific purpose (to have your own blood in case of emergency), but rather to give the gift to others. Another option would be to bank privately, although this is very costly, and not always the insurance policy that you think that it is.
(For more information on the pros of public banking, click on the following link http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2006-102697.asp )
In Menschi's case, his donated cord blood was discarded at birth for a minor anomaly (cord blood banks have very strict standards for donations). Even though Menschi was not able to directly benefit from his own cord blood (we were hoping to find stem cells for him there), my desire is that others can gain from our experience.
I would like to recommend a newly founded Jewish public cord blood donation registry that is part of "the Gift of Life Foundation." For more information, please contact http://www.giftoflife.org/
One last thing, if you're in your last trimester, make your inquiries quickly, because processing your application can take some time!
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