Donating Cord Blood to Public Bank...Now What?

You have made the decision to donate your baby's cord blood to a public bank, now what do you need to know and do?  First off', public cord blood banks are held to certain standards and therefore donations can be rejected.  Talk to your doctor to determine whether you are eligible to donate.  If you are leigible,  make sure thatyour doctor is willing and able to collect the cord blood.  You will also need to check with the facility where the birth is to take place as to whether they participate in the national cord blood collection program.  If your hospital doesn't participate, and many do not, there are still options available to you.  Find out what the options are in your area at parentsguidecordblood.org.  Lastly, remind the hospital staff during labor and delivery that you are donating the cord blood.  This may be a good job to delegate to your coach, as you may be preoccupied at that time.

Using Cord Blood To Cure Diseases

Expectant parents everywhere are choosing to save the stem cells obtained from the embiical cord following the birth of their baby.   my own daughter is soon to be married and thinking about starting a family, I felt that this was a topic that I neede to investigate.  With all the contraversy surrounding other types of stem cell research, I want to get the facts on this type.  Does it cause pain or damage to the baby, how is it stored, cost of storing, and the options available to parents of children who are sick as well as parents who looking forward to the birth of a new little bundle of joy.

The great news that I want to share in this first post about cord blood is that research has shown that the stem cells found in baby's cord blood could be used to treat up to eighty different diseases including certain cancers, blood disorders, juvenile diabetes and cerebral palsy.