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So I've got my son's placenta in my fridge... what now?

Fuzzy14

Fuzzy14

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 19, 2006
1,357
1
Renfrew, Scotland
This thread may gross out many readers, the title says it all. If you think you will be offended then please read a different thread.

First good news: my wife gave birth to my son on Thursday morning. Yay! Everything going well, he's got jaundice due to a minor problem but both should be out before Christmas.

Shock 1: after delivery the hospital offered us the placenta to take home. Didn't know they did that.
Shock 2: The wife said yes.

So I've now got a placenta sitting in my fridge (next to my beer) and I don't know what to do with it. Before anybody suggests it, I am not keen on eating it, although I am tempted to stuff the turkey with it and feed it to the mother in law for Christmas dinner.

Any reasonable suggestions? I've read about people burying it in the garden and planting a tree on top. Anybody else did something like this?
 
Wow! Keep it for sure. Give it to him when he hits puberty. It'll keep his pants on for a good long time when you tell him where it came from. :)

Sorry- I'm just evil like that sometimes. ;)
 
As a yank, I'm not sure what all the ingredients of haggis are, but would placenta ruin the recipe? Just kidding:p

I think burying it and planting something over it is a good idea--I just don't if this is the right time of the year for that in Scotland.
 
cornopaez said:
LOL! :D

And then in a little bit more serious tone, did they tell you why you could take that home? I mean, it's an odd thing to take home it's not like it's a home run ball or something you can hang in your wall... ;)
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The placenta is an excellent source of stem cells. More and more parents have taken to freezing them for future medical needs for themselves or their child.
 
cornopaez said:
LOL! :D
And then in a little bit more serious tone, did they tell you why you could take that home? I mean, it's an odd thing to take home it's not like it's a home run ball or something you can hang in your wall... ;)
Click to expand...

They said it was our property and so up to us if we wanted to keep it! Mind you, I wasn't offered it when my first was born. Maybe it was tongue in cheek and they weren't expecting us to answer.

Kashchei said:
As a yank, I'm not sure what all the ingredients of haggis are, but would placenta ruin the recipe? Just kidding:p

I think burying it and planting something over it is a good idea--I just don't if this is the right time of the year for that in Scotland.
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Quite frighteningly, it looks like liver which is one of the ingredients of haggis. I don't think it'll keep until Burns so I'll put it in the freezer until spring.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
First thing I'd do is move it away from the beer. It might make your ale go off or something, and we wouldn't want that... :eek:
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I'm working on it....
 

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Odd topic...can't resist. :)
First, I believe that the doctor's offered it to you because stem cell research is on-going and having it could undoubtedly save your son's life if he were to be burdened with something bad. I would certainly speak to a qualified individual about this and look into storing it elsewhere. Perhaps the fridge at home is not the best place.
Second, it is your property (or your wife's) and it is her choice. Since stem cell research is quite controversial I would be interested in doing more research on it if I were you. Again, this could heal your son if he were to ever fall terribly ill.
Third, I'd move it away from the beer. ;)
 
jessica. said:
Odd topic...can't resist. :)
First, I believe that the doctor's offered it to you because stem cell research is on-going and having it could undoubtedly save your son's life if he were to be burdened with something bad. I would certainly speak to a qualified individual about this and look into storing it elsewhere. Perhaps the fridge at home is not the best place.
Second, it is your property (or your wife's) and it is her choice. Since stem cell research is quite controversial I would be interested in doing more research on it if I were you. Again, this could heal your son if he were to ever fall terribly ill.
Third, I'd move it away from the beer. ;)
Click to expand...

I agree with this sound advice. :)

I believe there are plenty of labs around that will keep the placenta frozen for you for quite cheap. That way, should your son ever need it (here's hoping he doesn't) he's got something to potentially save his life.

Think of it like you would a life insurance policy. It's just to protect him in the future. :)
 
It was your wife's idea to bring it home. What does SHE want to do with it?

This is a little too touchy-feely for me.
 
mgguy said:
It was your wife's idea to bring it home. What does SHE want to do with it?
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What? You think I know how a woman's mind works???? :rolleyes:

She's still in hospital since the wee man is being kept in due to rhesus incompatibility causing jaundice (her very rare o-neg blood is causing problems with his and my rare B-pos blood) so the issue is my problem to sort.

I was very impressed by the stem cell suggestions, that's a whole issue I didn't even think off although there are a few moral and religious issues we will need to discuss first (we come from differing religious backgrounds which doesn't help.) The stem cells are only in the blood contained within the umbilical cord but I think there will be some left.

I think I'll move it into the freezer tonight but I don't think it is cold enough for long-term storage so I would need to find a lab. Funny enough, I had access to liquid nitrogen in my previous job.

However I think the favorite is to bury it and plant a tree!
 
If you're worried about the moral/religious implications, just remember that you haven't had to harm anyone to get it, and that it is your son's DNA that's in question. When the time comes, don't you think it should be left up to him to decide?:) After all, he can always choose to throw it away on his own later, but if you do it now without asking him, you've taken something from him.
 
NEENAHBOY said:
The placenta is an excellent source of stem cells. More and more parents have taken to freezing them for future medical needs for themselves or their child.
Click to expand...
But so few of those parents actually have the tools or education to culture those stem cells. They'd have been better off giving the placenta to Stem Cells 'R Us.

Ask your wife what her plan was for the home placenta. Otherwise, I'd just pitch it.
 
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I has to agree with those who suggest finding a lab that will store it. Stem-cell research is very promising and I am glad to see people are getting options now when it comes to storing the placenta for harvesting stem cells if needed.
 
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