Thinking of going with SMart Cells Cord Blood collection co.

[mea]

Hi,

Has anyone signed with Smart Cells? Do they offer an interest free credit option? Does it cost anthing to use the cord blood if needed? Do they also offer a discount if refered by parents who have already signed with them?

My husband will have to collect the placenta, so i guess i'll have to go to the hospital to request this be carried out at the time of my baby's birth.

I'll be delivering at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin. Has anyone already collected the sample at this hospital?

Thanks in advance for your help.
mea

 

[ania8888]

Best call them directly and ask for Sophie Bland. The rest of staff is struggling with English. [But they will answer all your questions.

They do not have any partial payment on offer, all HKD28K up front for 20 years. Personally, I do not like the idea of one bullet payment. The company has all my cash, and no real interest in following up with me, keeping in touch, and what if they go bust? I think that if you do partial payment at least you keep them interested in you as a customer and have more bargaining power. I did some internet research on Smart Cells. It seems that they have actually outsourced all processing and storage to another company called BioVault Ltd in Plymouth. BioVault does storage for other players in this market, including the new Virgin venture with Richard Branson behind it. My only concern was that the lab was totally independent of Smart Cells and its origins go back to bio marine processing and storage. So nothing to do with human tissues in the past, but I know they are now properly licensed and controlled in the UK under the Human Tissue Act and they also work with the NHS. But if Smart Cells has some sort of cash flow or financial trouble and does not pay the lab, what happens then with the stem cells stored there? You are essentially signing up with a marketing company, in my view.

Smart Cells use Midnite Express courier which handles biomedical shipments, which is very positive as DHL cannot guranetee temperature stability, they can just guarantee the shipment will get to a destination on time. But you have no guranetees that the airport security in the UK will not screen the sample - I am not sure if this matters or not for the temperature and the safety of the blood cells. But I would imagine that it does as it is radiation after all.

I think their strongest selling point is that they offer retrieval included in the fee, worldwide, and a full refund if you need to use the sample in the fist 12 months.

Just sharing my thoughts and research. Hope it helps in making a decision. I am also at a crossroads as I am 34 weeks now, and cannot make up my mind if to "export" the stem cells to Europe or keep them here, at least for as long as I will be living here.