Week of 11/25/13..
During the most fragile and desperate time of my life, with only a few days before KJ undergoes his bone marrow transplant we learn ViaCord is holding my umbilical cord blood hostage! Let me restate... For only $34,000, I can use lifesaving umbilical cord blood stored for FREE from the birth of my twins. The plan was to use the umbilical cord blood along with the bone marrow collected directly from one of the twins.
Sure. No problem. Would you like that in cash, check or charge?
Ooooh so this is how it works...
ViaCord offers expecting mothers to store their baby's cord blood for FREE of charge, with no monthly storage fees for up to five years IF their is a child already in the home with a chronic illness that may benefit from the life saving cord blood. Which was my situation. Well at least that is how I understood it. I guess I should have read the fine print!
This is an excerpt directly from ViaCord's website:
Sibling connection program
Sibling Connection Program: How it works
This program provides ViaCord's Complete Newborn Stem Cell Package, which includes cord blood and cord tissue stem collection, processing and five years of storage at no cost to expecting parents who have a child in need of a transplant and meet the other enrollment requirements of the program. Any expectant family with a child who has an established diagnosis of a disease that is currently treatable with sibling cord blood may be eligible. Your child's doctor will need to complete a medical referral form for approval. Links to medical referral forms are available below.
For more information visit http://www.viacord.com
So BEWARE the storage may be FREE but to actually use the stem cells, you and/or your insurance will be charged $34,000 or more in preparation fees or some crap.
