Cordlife or Stemcord


hi there,

you might wanna consider donating your bb's cordblood to singapore cord blood bank to help many others small kids who have cancer ^_^

http://www.scbb.com.sg/

the procedure of donating is very simple. no hassle at all and it will benefit those kids who are terminally ill.

I have donated in my first le... now is my 2nd pregnancy. I will also donate to them. ^_^
 
Both are similar actually. Just the price difference. For me, I went for Stemcord. Their pricing is better. I paid only $600 for registration fees.
 
hihi... yup you need to inform your gynae..cos your gynae will be the one who help to collect the cordblood ^_^

. according to scbb, you have to sign some declarations after your 32 weeks of pregnancy.. then they will instruct you the procedures thereafter. That time at my first delivery, I have to pass an evelope from scbb to the hospital nurse when i admitted, then the nurse will know what to do. ^_^ very simple and hassle free for mummys in labour.

you might wanna call them and ask for more details. I will call them again when i am 32 weeks. now i only into my 19 weeks. ^o^

It's really a good deed to donate your cordblood. if you have friends who are pregnant, do ask them consider as it will save many lives. ^_^
 
I signed up with CordLife around Feb this year and my EDD is in Aug.

Regarding the "success rate", I know that CordLife just brought in this "new technology" called Sepax Processing System.
http://www.cordlife.com/sg/CordLifeAdvantage/SepaxProcessingSystem.php

I am not sure if Stemcord have it but CordLife's website stated that it is only available in CordLife.

The number of cells needed in a cord blood is important as the higher the number of cells is available in the cord blood, the higher the success rate of transplant.

1. CordLife is the only ABB accredited cordblood bank in Singapore (not sure if they are FACT accredited). Also when Singapore first start up their public cordblood bank, Govt went to CordLife for advice (govt have to pay them for the advices they gave!) but not other cordblood bank. Seems to be reliable to me. =) Further more, I remember seeing CordLife's stationary booth in TMC.

I just checked out Stemcord's website.... http://www.stemcord.com/whystem_main.html

" Licensed by Singapore’s Ministry of Health – FACT

StemCord is licensed and audited yearly by MOH. It uses stringent criteria set by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) in the collection, processing and storage of cord blood samples and is acquiring accreditation with the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). "

It uses stringent criteria set by AABB but however not accredited by AABB. Also, does it means they are still acquiring for FACT accreditation?

Actually even if StemCord is cheaper but they are not AABB, FACT accredited, I wont even think about it. weird that they have a babytalk also joint with parkway health but they are not AABB or FACT accredited.

I got this file from MOH about cordblood.
http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/nareiko/MinistryOfHealthmemo.jpg

Actually if anything happened and you need cordblood stem cell to save your family, atleast you don't need to spend donno how much (forgot the price but 10k +++ bah) to buy cordblood stem cell from public bank.

The only reason I am so keen to sign up is my family have history of cancer. Both my grandmother and mom died from it. Although not all types of cancers can be cure by cord blood transplant.

Anyone need referral can pm me for my name and contact. I think you can get $50 off or something. Not very sure though, better check with their sales personnel.
 
if u've signed for TMC's first born or subsequent born card, u'll be eligible for $450 discount from cordlife..

stemcord also offer discount to some gynaes too.. not sure abt cordlife.. hv to call them n check...

further discount of $50 if someone referred u to cordlife n stemcord..

can let me know if u need a referral for cordlife..
 
hi mummies, i with my2nd child, thought of storing cord blood... 1st child, didnt really do think if this...
does anyknow how many years much we store the cord blood and how much?
tks
 
we are with cordlife.
we pay about 1k for the upfront payment, with annual storage fee of $250.

They have different prepayment plan, annual, 10-yr and 21-yr

btw, .. pm me if u need a referral..
 
hi i signed up with cordlife eventually. there are pros and cons with each. u may want to speak to both before deciding.
 
Hi, did you hear about Cordlife's Quality Guarantee? They will offer a cord blood replacement or US$25,000 compensation if the cord blood unit is not viable at the point of transplant.

check out this link - http://www.cordlife.com/sg/CordLifeAdvantage/reasontobankwithcordlife.php

Looks like Cordlife's has just added this Quality Guarantee on top of their AABB accreditation and Sepax automated processing technology accolade!

I guess even if Cordlife is a little more expensive, it is worth it.
 
I m keen to take up Cordlife's annual plan and it seems they have promotion every month. So now i am looking at which one is good then i will sign up.

May I know, does the sales usually go thru with you all about Cordlife or you need to attend the seminar to understand more?

Also if we get their promo rates, can we still get the referral discount? Is S$50 on 1st year or ongoing yearly basis?

Thanks.
 
hi ginger for me i took up the 10 year plan. yes they have promotion every now and then. if you are still quite some time away from your due date, you can "monitor" the promotions.
You can call them and they can tell you what they have for promotion and send you their sales kit. Seminar also has promotion, depends on what they have.
I find the seminar useful in terms of presenting the benefits of cord banking in general.
they didn't give me the referral discount, which they claimed was not applicable for the 10 year plan.
 
Thanks Geberra,

I only started looking in March but so far the promo is not so attractive as the giftaways are not useful to me.

I hope they have better ones later.

When do we need to decide to sign up? How long before your due?
 
Hi ladies, just a thought on keeping the cord blood. My wife and I wanted to but our gyane gives us a different perspective.

This is what he said, although I couldn't remember his actual words.

The reason of keeping cord blood is not meant for the baby. But it is meant for their siblings, or someone in the blood line who needs stem cells to cure some genetic defect.

However, if it is meant for the baby, then there is nothing much we can do. If the baby is born with genetic defect, then the cord blood is not usable at all.

He advised us to get a proper health and hospital insurance for our baby. He said the bulk of bills come from hospitalization and medication. So, if these areas are well-covered, you are pretty safe with it.

One last thing, if you give your baby all the cord blood, you are giving him or her 30% more oxygen and nutrients into their body. It makes a lot of differences.

Just sharing my thoughts.
 
hi ginger, i think at least 1-2 months before due date would give you some time to update your gynae too.
ultraman, yes i heard about that too...for the siblings, esp if you intend to have more than 1 kid. Also, if it's inter-racial marraiges, it is also better to store cord blood because the chances of a match are lower.
 
Hi all,

I also sign up with stemcord, anyone wanna exchange details for referral, please email me :

[email protected]

Thanks.

Hi Janet,

I tried to PM you but ur PM was not turn on....u wanna drop me a msg at my email??
 
hi
anyone know if keeping the baby cord blood is neccessary? is the baby's cord blood is useful for the baby itself for future treatment if needed? or more benefit to family member in the future ?
thanks
 
Hi

Anyone need referral for Cordlife can email me at [email protected]. Win-win situation
happy.gif
I have a few $150 vouchers too.
 
Hi Ultraman,

Don't quite understand your statement:

"One last thing, if you give your baby all the cord blood, you are giving him or her 30% more oxygen and nutrients into their body. It makes a lot of differences."

Can u explain more on this?
 
feifei...the doctor shouldn't charge you extra for collecting the cord blood. Any fees for that will be billed to cordlife/stemcord.
 
i am with stemcord. find that their 2 locations strategies to store the cord blood is better than cordlife and they will refund some partial $ to u if the vol. collected is not within the specific amt. Not sure if cordlife have these.

email me at [email protected] if u need referral. thks!
happy.gif
 
hai.. i had heard about this news on the mothers who chosed stemcord to bank their baby's cord blood. and eventually the tube or the store packaging was damaged. yet they don issue any refunds. If it happens at cordlife, they will compensate us US$25,000. And i never heard any issues regarding on the issue about cordlife. so what is about your opinions?
 
hello all, you may want to research more on cord blood banking before making a decision. Cordlife and Stemcord are both for-profit commercial banks and just base on their information alone, you will not get the full picture.

In many developed countries including USA and UK, commercial cord blood banking as a form of biological insurance is discouraged. In countries like Italy and Spain, it's actually banned!

European Commission's Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) report on the ethics of private umbilical cord banking:

"The legitimacy of commercial cord blood banks for autologous use should be questioned as they sell a service, which has presently, no real use regarding therapeutic options. Thus they promise more than they can deliver. The activities of such banks raise serious ethical criticisms."

American Academy of Pediatrics:

"Cord blood donation should be discouraged when cord blood stored in a bank is to be directed for later personal or family use, because most conditions that might be helped by cord blood stem cells already exist in the infant's cord blood (ie, premalignant changes in stem cells). Physicians should be aware of the unsubstantiated claims of private cord blood banks that promise to insure infants or family members against serious illnesses in the future by use of the stem cells contained in cord blood".

"Given the difficulty of making an accurate estimate of the need for autologous transplantation and the ready availability of allogeneic transplantation, private storage of cord blood, as biological insurance, is unwise."

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists:

"The RCOG strongly supports the concept of a NHS Cord Blood Bank for allogeneic storage of donated cord blood and would like to see it well funded. However, it remains unconvinced of the benefit of personal commercial banking for low-risk families."

World Marrow Donor Association: Policy Statement for the Utility of Autologous or Family Cord Blood Unit Storage:

"Today the likelihood that an autologous cord blood unit will be used for transplantation is very low. There is currently no clear proof that these cells will be able to be used for regenerative medicine or to treat other diseases in the future."

------

All you have to do is google Cord Blood Banking: Private Vs Public Banking, and you'll find more information that'll give you a more balanced perspective on cord blood banking.

There is only one instance where it makes sense to bank your baby's cord blood privately, and that's if a sibling or someone in the family who may benefit from stem cell transplant. Other than that, you're better off saving the money for traditional medical insurance and donating your baby's cord blood to a public bank.

Read this Straits Times article: http://www.scbb.com.sg/images/newsarticles/2008/october/ST_25Oct2008.pdf
 
Hi,

I signed up Cordlife becos know quite a no of pple/frds signed up with Cordlife & also they r only ABB accredited cordblood bank in Singapore.

If anyone need referral for Cordlife, can PM/email me too ? Got $50 discount.
Thanks !
 
Now after 8 years of doing this "banking" I can give you my advice which would be against it! If the above given medical reasons are not enough for you to decide against it and anyway choose to go forward, please read the following:

This well-known establishment in Singapore many talk about is not keeping their promises such as mentioned "long-term banking guarantee" in their brochures!

In another words, when you might need the cord blood, you might not have it available...If anyway it would be medically even feasible...

After regularly paying fees for the cordblood banking for about 8 years, I received a letter in the mail last week from their lawyer.

Without any reasoning they are terminating our account pursuant to Clause 6 of the client service agreement.

For their credit, the lawyer did thank for our prior support.

I would suggest following extreme caution with these "service" providers. Please study the agreement carefully and understand that there are no guarantees. Only guarantee is that your money will be collected.

And, then these 50 dollar discount referrals...Very unfortunate if your decision is assisted by such!
 
Worried dad,
How came they can terminated the contract since you already pay for 8 years?, Thought once you sign up let say for 21 yrs, they will keep the cord blood till 21 yrs? Is not secure at all? Which cord blood bank? Cos i m still sourcing the info for banking the cord blood.
 
Anyone has more info to share from worried dad's comment?

Still deciding if want to go for this for my 2nd bb.
 
Hi,

I have signed up with Cordlife for my baby.

Anyone want to sign up with Cordlife at Baby Expo on 20 July 2012? If I refer you as friend, we each get $100 shopping voucher.

Do email me at [email protected]
Have a good day.
 
If anyone want to sign up with Cordlife during month of June 2013, I can refer you as a friend.
We each can get $150 worth of shopping vouchers. 
Do email me at [email protected] or PM me if you are interested. 
Thanks.
 

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