You Could Save a Life

This is a post I've been meaning to write for almost 9 months now. I just got caught up in life with two little ones and forgot how passionate I was about the topic of cord blood donation until I saw a news article on it last week. So here's the story of how I got involved with it.

Before having Ansley, my first daughter, I had never heard of cord blood donation at all. I had, however, received many pamphlets and emails about cord blood banking and how the valuable stem cells found in the umbilical cord blood could be saved (for thousands of dollars) and used in the future by our family to treat diseases. Not only was that out of the question financially, I just felt like I wanted to trust the Lord rather than investing in something we may never even need to use. But, a few months after Ansley was born I saw a story on the morning news by a doctor who was encouraging women to consider donating their cord blood to a bank, where the stem cells could potentially be used to save the lives of people who were suffering from diseases. I didn't realize that this was even an option or that the blood was so valuable and there are so many possibilities for it. But, if the parents don't wish to bank or donate, the blood is thrown away by the hospital.

When I became pregnant with Heidi, I decided to investigate a little further to find out what all went into the donation. I got my information from The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and found out that there really wasn't anything too difficult at all. I simply made the decision to donate, informed my doctor, sent an email to the center, and filled out the paperwork they sent. They mailed a box to me including everything that would be needed by the nurses and doctor and I took that with me to the hospital. They looked over it and just followed the directions immediately following Heidi's delivery. A few hours later, Jeff called FedEx to have them pick up the box at the hospital for delivery and we were done. And all of this cost us absolutely NOTHING. I'm not sure how the blood was used as some is not suitable for recipients and is used in research instead. But, I think it's such an easy thing to do and there is such potential for this cord blood to be used in so many wonderful ways. And because the stem cells come from the umbilical cord of healthy newborn babies and not from embryos, I am a big supporter.

So, this sweet little girl of mine may have saved another life.