Cord blood collection in Ireland

Qboot

Dear All,

My wife is having our second baby in May and we would like to make arrangements for cord blood collection. We did not do it with our first-born, so this is probably the last chance for us to have it collected (for the time being, we are not planning to have more children).

We have done some research of our own re the options to do it in Ireland but so far it got us nowhere. It seems hardly any hospital will allow their staff to collect the blood, let alone allow non-medical personnell to do it. Yet, there are mothers in Ireland who have managed to have their cord blood collected and stored.

It seems one place that can occasionally carry out the procedure is the Rotunda in Dublin but they officially do not support this practice. I have also heard about people getting the collection kit themselves and having the doctors/midwifes collect the blood after labour.

Do you know how this proecdure can be arranged for in Ireland or perhaps had it done yourself? We really do not want to go through the hassle of having the baby abroad in order to have the blood stored, so I would be grateful for any information on what we are required to do in order to have it done in the country. Many thanks in advance!

lazygal

We asked about this on our first pregnancy. It was a firm no. Hospitals won't allow access to external people to collect it. The only people I know who managed it had home births.

Liam McPoyle

I've never heard of this practice, what's behind it?

Purple Lemons

Business Cat wrote: »

I've never heard of this practice, what's behind it?

Stem cells that can help treat leukaemia and such in the future afaik

Qboot

lazygal wrote: »

We asked about this on our first pregnancy. It was a firm no. Hospitals won't allow access to external people to collect it. The only people I know who managed it had home births.

Thanks lazygal. That is the response I have been coming accross as well. There is also the option to order the collection and shipment kit yourself and ask your obstetrician to do it. That way, there are no "outsiders" to involve in the procedure.

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Stem cells that can help treat leukaemia and such in the future afaik

Exactly. Stem cells can be almost freely modified to help combat such conditions, if required. There is still not enough scientific evidence to fully support this argument but there is an incredible amount of research done in this area at the moment, with very good results. All in all, it is not very expensive to store for a period of 20 years and can potentially save the life of your child or even yourself. Collection and storage of cord blood is actually a part of the standard of care in a number of countries world-wide.

lazygal

It's proven to help a cancer which runs in my family but unfortunately we came up against a brick wall. The master of the hospital was my consultant and looked at the medical case for it and it was still a no. I will push it again on any future pregnancy though. It's such a small thing to do for the possible, and in our case probable, benefits which can be delivered.

Milly33

It is so frustrating that they do not offer it here... We looked into it also as I really just don't understand why it isn't done.. It has shown some fantastic results, and since Ireland is just mad for making money out of others the hospitals could make a lot of money out of doing it...

I came across the kits and that but we could not afford to have it done ourselfs and like that I was fairly certain the hospital would not let us.. If ye were going for a home birth I would say defo try it, or ask a Doula for advice....Still think it is mad as there is a section in the maternity file asking for you permission to take samples for their own use, but they would not offer to take one for the parents or the sake of the child.

shesty

Where would it be stored?Is there a facility in Ireland for it?

Qboot

shesty wrote: »

Where would it be stored?Is there a facility in Ireland for it?

Unfortunately, no. Apparently there used to be a branch of (I think) a UK company here that organised everything for you, including a rep to collect the blood during labour. The company is not here anymore, I assume due to the brick wall of hospitals not letting any third parties near the labour ward. The only option to do it now is to order the kit yourself, arrange for the collection with an obstetritian and then ship the sample to a lab in UK (or a different country).

We have been searching high and low and there are indeed a few specialists who can collect the blood in the Rotunda. So far, this is the only viable option we have come across and it looks like we will go for it, although it will cost us an arm and a leg and we may even have to take a loan to afford it.

LegacyUser

I asked my consultant in the rotunda about having a kit sent over to retrieve cord blood And was told that it's not possible as they have different legislation in the UK to ours and so it's legally not a possibility here.

Qboot wrote: »

Unfortunately, no. Apparently there used to be a branch of (I think) a UK company here that organised everything for you, including a rep to collect the blood during labour. The company is not here anymore, I assume due to the brick wall of hospitals not letting any third parties near the labour ward. The only option to do it now is to order the kit yourself, arrange for the collection with an obstetritian and then ship the sample to a lab in UK (or a different country).

We have been searching high and low and there are indeed a few specialists who can collect the blood in the Rotunda. So far, this is the only viable option we have come across and it looks like we will go for it, although it will cost us an arm and a leg and we may even have to take a loan to afford it.

Qboot

Aleve wrote: »

I asked my consultant in the rotunda about having a kit sent over to retrieve cord blood And was told that it's not possible as they have different legislation in the UK to ours and so it's legally not a possibility here.

Hello again,

Just letting everyone known that we have eventually managed to do the procedure in Ireland.

In brief, you need to find a consultant who is willing (and trained) to collect the cells – there are a couple of them around the country. Your best bet is to look for an obstetrician who spent some time working abroad.

Then you need to get in touch with a stem cell collection company abroad (UK is your best bet) and have them send the kit to you.
After that, it's just proper communication with your consultant and the laboratory-designated courier who is to collect the kit and ship it to the lab.

I was talking to the lads in charge of shipping the samples and they said that we were one of the first couples to do this in Ireland, with one more couple in Dublin and another one in Galway shipping their samples around the same time as we. They also mentioned that they had a few more inquiries from interested parties, so it looks like the demandind is growing.

Anyway, although costly, it is definitely possible to do in Ireland. Feel free to PM me if you would like the specifics.

Cordblood

Would be grateful if you could pm me information regarding company u used as researching this but getting no where fast. Thanks

LegacyUser

Hello.. do you mind if you give all the info in relation to store the blood and all. We are looking as well but no luck. It will be great help if you can tell me the name of the company and all
Thank you
Ginni

Qboot

Hi Ginnikaur,
Feel free to PM me, and I will PM you back all the details.
Best.

emmaor2018

Hi there,

I am so glad I found your post. I have tried to private message you but since I just joined Boards (for the purposes of sending you a message about this) they won't let me send you a private message until I have a minimum number of posts or something.

Would it be possible for you to please send me the details of the company you used in Ireland for this? My husband and I have been looking for some time and are expecting our baby in November so would really appreciate any information you can give us that might help us.

Really hoping we manage to get there!

Thanks

emmaor2018

I actually think my private message managed to send there - thanks!

Qboot

emmaor2018 wrote: »

I actually think my private message managed to send there - thanks!

Hi Emma,

Yes, I have received your PM and sent you a reply. Feel free to reach out if you need anything else!

Best of luck!

LegacyUser

Hi there,

Me and my partner are taking our first steps towards this and any information would be very helpful in relation to the company you used and any challenges you had with the hospital.

Thanks in advance,

K.

Qboot wrote: »

Hi Emma,

Yes, I have received your PM and sent you a reply. Feel free to reach out if you need anything else!

Best of luck!

klom

Hi Qboot,

I was wondering if you could pass on your experience and knowledge around this subject as me and my partner plan on taking this step. What company did you use and what issues did you run into? Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

K.

Qboot wrote: »

Hi Emma,

Yes, I have received your PM and sent you a reply. Feel free to reach out if you need anything else!

Best of luck!

patricehouli

Hi Qboot
I would really appreciate this information. Until I saw your post I thought it wouldn't be possible here. I will try to PM you but I just joined boards and am as yet unfamiliar with it's workings

Qboot

klom wrote: »

Hi Qboot,

I was wondering if you could pass on your experience and knowledge around this subject as me and my partner plan on taking this step. What company did you use and what issues did you run into? Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

K.

patricehouli wrote: »

Hi Qboot
I would really appreciate this information. Until I saw your post I thought it wouldn't be possible here. I will try to PM you but I just joined boards and am as yet unfamiliar with it's workings

Hi klom and patricehouli,

I have sent you both private messages. Please note however that it has been recently brought to my attention that the company we used no longer provides the service in Ireland due to licencing issues, so you may have to look for another company - in the UK or otherwise. Anyway, it is definitely possible to do it in Ireland, but it does involve a lot of searching and it is also very expensive.

Best of luck with everything!

Jude13

What is the approximate cost for this service?

Thanks

LegacyUser

Hi im wodering if you can give me more details about this, and how you managed. My sister is in rotunda with twins and we really need to have the cord blood collected. Please let me know more details and who i can contact about this.

ngoc

Hi Qboot,
Just PM you some questions about this, thanks for any inputs in advance

Qboot wrote: »

Hello again,

Just letting everyone known that we have eventually managed to do the procedure in Ireland.

In brief, you need to find a consultant who is willing (and trained) to collect the cells – there are a couple of them around the country. Your best bet is to look for an obstetrician who spent some time working abroad.

Then you need to get in touch with a stem cell collection company abroad (UK is your best bet) and have them send the kit to you.
After that, it's just proper communication with your consultant and the laboratory-designated courier who is to collect the kit and ship it to the lab.

I was talking to the lads in charge of shipping the samples and they said that we were one of the first couples to do this in Ireland, with one more couple in Dublin and another one in Galway shipping their samples around the same time as we. They also mentioned that they had a few more inquiries from interested parties, so it looks like the demandind is growing.

Anyway, although costly, it is definitely possible to do in Ireland. Feel free to PM me if you would like the specifics.

ngoc

Can anyone else (more recent 2019/2020) share their experience and info how they could get it done here, especially with the Covid-19 situation? Mine is due in March 2021 and under this Covid-19 situation I’m not sure if it’s possible anymore. Thanks for any thoughts and inputs though in advance!

muboop1

ngoc wrote: »

Can anyone else (more recent 2019/2020) share their experience and info how they could get it done here, especially with the Covid-19 situation? Mine is due in March 2021 and under this Covid-19 situation I’m not sure if it’s possible anymore. Thanks for any thoughts and inputs though in advance!

Hi,

Did you figure this out? Also due a baby this year and want to know if this is possible. Does anybody have info on this?

Thanks

ChileFlake

Cordblood wrote: »

Would be grateful if you could pm me information regarding company u used as researching this but getting no where fast. Thanks

Hi, I would like to know the details too... Please.

michelled86

I would love information on this please?? I know it’s an old post but can’t seem to find any information plwase

Qboot

Hi everybody,

As this is an old thread, I just want to let you know that the procedure is still possible to do in Ireland, as confirmed by other forum users who have been in touch with me about the specifics and managed to have their babies' cord blood collected.

Should anyone wish to obtain more information, please do not leave requests for information on the forum but PM me instead. This is essential for 2 reasons:

1. The specifics contain a lot of information (such as names of physicians or hospitals) that may be considered confidential under GDPR, so I cannot make them public;
2. I do not visit BOARDS very often, so if you leave a message under this thread, it might get overlooked. However, if you PM me — I will get a notification and I will check, read and reply to your message.

I do also encourage other users who managed to have the procedure carried out in Ireland to partake in helping others get it done. It is difficult as it is, so any piece of information will be very welcome. Here's hoping cord blood collection will become standard practice in Ireland soon, as it is a travesty one has to jump through so many hoops to ultimately have a rather simple procedure carried out.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/106288490#Comment_106288490

It's generally not done because it's far better for the infant to have the blood at birth then saving it for the unfortunate off chance that it might be needed in future.

Most hospitals need their ethics committees to approve the procedure and won't do it unless a need is shown (such as a sibling requiring it).

caroline.ccc

Hi Qboot.

I'm desperate to get this info. I'm 28 weeks pregnant and I was diagnosed with a rare disease last week. My baby's cord cells would be very important to be preserved. I'm trying to figure out how to arrange the collection ASAP. Not sure how even to being.

I sent you a private message to understand better how you did.

Thanks!