Cord Blood Transplant Costs
The demand for cord blood transplants ha risen in recent years. Cord blood transplants have been proven to extend the lives of people who are afflicted with certain diseases, even going as far as completely curing them. But how does the process of cord blood transplant work? How much do cord blood transplant costs these days?
Steps and procedures
Understanding the process of cord blood transplantation can give you an idea of what you will have to go through. But before you can start with the transplant, you need to go through a series of procedures.
Each doctor follows certain procedures when looking for potential donors. First of all, the doctor will do a preliminary search in the NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program). This preliminary search is basically a one-time overview of the potential samples that could be a match you. The doctor will conduct this early search while looking for other alternative treatments for your disease.
When looking for possible donors, the doctor will include your HLA or human leukocyte antigen that is used to find your match in the search. This search is for free, however, the other procedures will cost you. The result of this search usually takes one working day to arrive. Once the doctor gets the result, he or she will go over it with a transplant doctor who is more familiar with the search process. This will lead to a more accurate interpretation of the result to better arrive at a more compatible sample.
But the search does not end here. After the preliminary search, the doctor will refer you to a transplant center. These transplant centers are certified members of the NMDP. Upon your arrival at one of these transplant centers, your health will be immediately evaluated by the medical staff. They will be able to decide on the best treatment for you by determining the stage of your disease and other significant factors. After all of the necessary tests have been done, your initial search for a donor begins. Do note however that your initial search can not begin without the approval of your insurance company.
The initial search is done by conducting more tests to determine the best possible donor for you. Not only will the center look for a possible match, it will also make sure that the donor is healthy enough to provide the sample. Each of the tests that will be done to you follows specific procedures that the NMDP has imposed to ensure your safety. Once a suitable donor has been selected, the sample will then be delivered to the center within 24 hours. Once the sample arrives, you will be prepared for the pre-transplant treatments. After that, you will finally be ready for the full transplant.
However, there are certain confidentiality standards that the NMDP sets in this procedure. You and your donor will not know each other nor will you be given any information about each other for one year after the transplant.
Cord blood transplant costs
Unfortunately, cord blood transplant costs do not have a specific or fixed amount . This is because each patient needs a specific amount and type of cord blood. In addition, finding the right match can take some time and a lot of money, too, depending on the rarity of your match. Furthermore, the cost of the transplant also depends on the length of time and intensity of your surgery.