North Carolina
NC, United States
North Carolina has state legislation around cord blood education that follows the Institute of Medicine guidelines and mandates/encourages physicians to educate expectant parents about ALL forms of cord blood banking. The North Carolina bill was enacted 8 June 2009 and became effective 8 June 2009.
FAQs
- What are the most important things to do when collecting cord blood?
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1. Read the instructions on the kit! Too many healthcare providers think that they don't need to read and follow instructions.
2. Sterilize before every needle stick. When in doubt, sterilize again!
3. Volume, volume, volume. You want to "milk the cord" for as much blood as possible. If the blood vessel you are using stops working, try another or move upstream, but sterilize first.
- What fraction of cord blood donations get accepted?
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Between a half and three quarters of donations are discarded. The primary reason is that the collection volume is too small. Public banks will only save a collection that is big enough to transplant a large child or small adult.
- What questions should parents ask a Family Bank about Prices?
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- Is the enrollment fee charged once per family, or for each birth?
- Is the first year of storage included in the processing fee?
- Is the storage fee guaranteed fixed?
- Are there any coupons currently available? Most banks are constantly running a "special limited time offer".
- Are there any professional discounts? Most banks offer discounts to medical professionals and military personnel. Some banks have discounts for first responders or students. It pays to shop for these deals.
- Do parents have the option of a partial or full refund if they decide not to store the cord blood for any reason? For example, if the lab tests show contamination and the cord blood should not be saved, what happens? Full refunds are typically only offered in situations where the bank provided staff to perform the collection service.
- Should the family ever need the cord blood, check that the bank does not charge to release it.
- Is the enrollment fee charged once per family, or for each birth?
