Cord blood donation

I've been wanting to write this blog for a while but as usual time & the energy to write rarely coincide. When I was pregnant with Ethan I received many brochures, mailings and information on banking/storing the cord blood for later use. The stem cells in cord blood are being successfully used to treat over 70 diseases (such as leukemia, non-hodgkin's lymphoma, breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma and many others). After looking over the information it was clear that the cost of storing the blood was way out of our reach financially and because we are very low risk for inherited disorders (also being successfully treated) we opted against storing the blood. When I was pregnant with Hailey I saw a special on Discovery Health Channel about a boy who was successfully treated for leukemia with cord blood stem cells. By the end of the special I was so in awe of how valuable this blood (the stem cells) are. At the end of the special they discussed how you can now donate the blood if you do not want to store it. What a great idea! I mentioned it to Matt when he got home and decided that I definitely wanted to donate. I contacted a company called Cryobanks International (based in Florida and a reputable company) that has an international database for hospitals to use. I filled out a quick health questionnaire online and requested an information packet. I received a more extensive health questionnaire in the mail, filled it out and mailed it back. Then I received the packet of materials that would be needed. I had discussed this with my midwife and she was willing to do the extra collection step. When Hailey was born my midwife followed the detailed instructions and collected the valuable blood. It was packaged in a postage paid fed-ex package and the nurse called to let them know it was ready to be picked up. That's it! It was such a simple process to give someone the chance at a new life. Plus it's great to know that if my children ever had one of these conditions there is a place we can go to to receive these life-giving cells, one where no human life has been destroyed. By the way, none of these diseases that are being successfully treated with cord blood stem cells can be successfully treated with embryonic stem cells. So if you are pregnant, or know someone who is I would strongly encourage you to consider donating the cord blood. I know I will be going thru this process again and will be donating this baby's cord blood also.