Waiting for adoptive son to be born..

[melacita]

Hey all~

How are you? I just wanted to share the great news. Our domestic adoption is getting closer to the due date. He is due to be born on August 24th. We are doing an open adoption. We are very excited but also curious as to what to expect before he is born. Also has anyone did via chord? We are highly considering it and would love your input.

Thanks so much~
Melanie

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt.../3ed6/preg.png

[TracyF]

Hi, Melanie. I just wanted to congratulate you on your impending motherhood. I don't know about the via chord, and our adoption was open although we haven't seen the birthparents since his birth, but I e-mail bm's sister frequently. I wish we had a more open relationship, but her sister says it is for the best as she is not stable and has very unhealthy lifestyle choices. But Congratulations again on your match. Keep us up to date.

[ANP]

It is very expensive ...we opted not to do it with our adoption or biological child. Hopefully we'll never need it.

[Loie]

The due date is fast approaching - how exciting for you!

There are two different schools of thought on the cord blood issue. The first school says the original source of stem cells can be readily available rather than the sometimes lengthy process (up to 4 months) of finding a compatible bone-marrow donor - more like an insurance policy. In this case you would locate a private bank and store the blood there. However, the stability of such private banks is still not guaranteed and the collection + first year's storage fees can range between $1,000 and $3,000.

The second school says that it is highly inadvisable to use source cells because then you're treating a condition with the same cells that caused the condition in the first place. For example, you more than likely would not want to treat a genetic condition with the stem cells of the donor that carried the gene. The exception to this is would be situations of cerebral palsy caused by injury, but those studies are still in lab trials with no conclusive data and is purely speculative to date.

Most public banks (associated with major teaching hospitals and hospital groups) have a lot of Caucasian donors and fewer Hispanic and African American donors. We have decided to donate to a public bank rather than privately bank because our DS is Hispanic and we agree with the second school of thought. Pbmom is in agreement and that's our current course of action. But this is a very personal choice for you and your family on whether you should or should not bank and only you can make the call.

You can check a banks accreditation with the American Association of Blood Banks at www.aabb.org. Their site also has valuable information on cord blood banking and current hematopoietic cell therapies.

Pregnancy Weekly http://pregnancyweekly.com/cord_bloo...FSwLGAodxlOX0g gives a checklist of questions for you to ask potential banking facilities.

Good luck!

[SgtMom]

We wanted to store cord blood since our dd has so few blood relatives. But we were too late! You need to start two months in advance, so get the ball rolling now if it is something that you really want to do.

Take care,
Kate

[melacita]

Hey guys!

Thanks for your best wishes and great informative replies. It has been great seeing things from other sides and sources. We are still deciding and not sure if we are going to use the chord blood for storage. Well, I just wanted everyone to know I am going out of the country for 10 days to visit some family, but then will be back. I wish you all the best also and will update everyone when I get back. I am very excited about this adoption and our soon to be first born.

Talk to everyone soon, Take care,
Many hugs,
Melanie