1 Mother 2 Another

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.