Preserve umbilical cord blood

[Denise]

California firm sponsors national campaign to preserve umbilical cord blood

The Cord Blood Registry, a blood bank in San Bruno, has launched a nationwide campaign to increase public awareness of cord-blood preservation -- a practice that can bolster ethical stem-cell research and help expectant parents provide for their child's future well-being.

Unlike embryonic stem cells, which have as yet no human therapeutic applications, stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord and other human tissues are used in more than 60 forms of successful treatment. However, every year in the U.S., about 15,000 people need a stem-cell transplant but cannot find a suitable donor match.

The solution is the collection and storage of umbilical-cord blood that can be used later. These cells provide treatments for many diseases and find universal ethical acceptance.
Collecting cord blood takes only a few minutes, and is painless and risk-free to both the baby or mother.

At its web site, the Cord Blood Registry defines its corporate mission as "giving families hope for longer, healthier lives. We see a day when saving cord blood stem cells will be a routine practice and stem cell therapy will be the first line treatment for many of today's incurable diseases and injuries."

“The goal of this campaign is to help expectant parents better understand the significance of banking cord-blood stem cells by introducing them to families who already do,” said Stephen Grant, executive vice president and co-founder of Cord Blood Registry, in a statement to the press.

Prior to the baby's delivery, parents at present can opt to preserve cord blood stem cells with a family bank or donate them to a public bank.

According to the National Marrow Donor Program, the number of transplants using cord blood as a source of stem cells to treat serious diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia will surpass those using bone marrow later this year.

A two-year-old boy recently received a transplant of his own cord blood stem cells to treat his diabetes. According to Michael Haller, assistant professor of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Florida, this marks the first time the Cord Blood Registry has supplied a sample for treatment of diabetes type 1.

According to the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, embryonic stem cells -- which are derived from living human embryos who are killed in the process of extraction -- do not reverse diabetes; instead, they form tumors.

Says Dr. Alan DeCherney, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA -- quoted at the Cord Blood Registry web site -- "The window of opportunity for cord blood collection is so limited and the potential for use of the cells so great that we have an obligation to counsel patients about this unique medical resource."

"I banked my baby's cord blood because I couldn't let the opportunity pass," explained Megan Burrell Jensen of Duarte in a Cord Blood Registry newsletter. "I work for a cancer center where cord blood transplants save lives. It really is a miracle."