Welcome to my Weblog!
Welcome to 1 Mother 2 Another! To read my most recent weblog entries, scroll down. To read entries from one category, click the links at right. To read my journey from the beginning, click here. To find out more about me, click here.
Top 5s
Short on time? Click here to go to my Top 5s Page - links to my top five recommendations in every category from Breastfeeding Sites to Urban Living Solutions.

Cord Blood Donation

I’m still thinking about Abby’s labor.  She and her husband Paul opted not to bank baby Joshua’s cord blood, and as I watched the nurse take a sample from the cord for testing, I looked at the umbilical cord lying on the tray, eventually destined for the trash, and thought, “What a waste.”

When Brian and I were preparing for our daughter Madeleine’s arrival, we looked into cord blood banking and decided not to do it as well.  Then I heard from a girlfriend that her father was going through leukemia treatment in Minnesota that involved cord blood from a bank.  Strangers had donated their child’s cord blood, rich with stem cells, and later on, my friend’s father was benefiting from this generous act.  I wanted to be a part of this!  So I started looking into the idea of donating our cord blood.  I assumed that if there was such a program in Minnesota, I’d have no problems donating our cord blood in New York City.  Imagine my shock when I discovered there’s virtually NO system in place here in New York!  There is a national program through the National Marrow Donor Program that collects and stores donated cord blood for transplants.  This program works with participating hospitals nationwide, and provides a list of participating hospitals.  How I wish our hospital had been on that list.  If you’re not going to bank your baby’s cord blood, please consider checking this out as an option.  You may help save a stranger’s life.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

House Rules

Here are the rules for posting comments on 1mother2another.com. Posting a comment that violates these rules will result in the comment’s deletion, and you’ll probably be banned from commenting in the future.

1) Register first. If you would like to post a comment, you must create an account with us. Check out the home page to do so.

2) Constructive comments only. If you cannot maintain a respectful tone in your posting, even in disagreement, your comment will be deleted. We’re all trying to find our way in this thing and are struggling to be the best moms we can. If you disagree with something I say, feel free to politely email me. If you disagree with another reader’s posting, you’re welcome to kindly post in reply. Vitriolic diatribes will be deleted. This site is about encouraging and supporting, not tearing down and chastising.

3) Questions welcomed. If an entry raises a question, you’re welcome to email me directly or post it. Keep in mind that postings will result in public replies by strangers and not just me.

4) Don’t steal. All original writings contained within this website are under copyright protection. If you link to us, please credit us as your source and provide a link back to our website. If you're interested in using an excerpt in published material, please contact us.

5) Share your photos! We'd love to have photos from our registered readers to show on our home page under "Maddie's friends". Email us a jpeg of your little one's best photo to photos@1mother2another.com. Please, no photos from professional photographers which fall under copyright protection.