It may not be your usual topic of conversation, but Charis Ober, founder of Save the Cord Foundation takes any chance she can to talk about umbilical cord blood.
She said that, umbilical cord blood is truly a treasure...! "Unfortunately 95% of all umbilical cord blood is thrown out as medical waste," Ober explained. "And with donated cord blood, which is called alageneic or donated cord blood, we an cure and treat over 80 deadly diseases".
Those diseases include leukemia, lymphoma, Sickle Cell Anemia, and "many of the genetic diseases such as Hurlers, Lesch-Nyhan, Krabbe Disease.”
Ober also said, "a shortage of cord blood for ethnic minorities, for diseases like Sickle Cell that shortage is critical".
Charis Ober said most people, if they have heard about cord blood, have heard they can bank it themselves for possible use by their children if they get a disease or injury in the future. And that usually comes with a cost.
Most people usually don't realize is that they can can donate that cord blood to a bank for free. Cord blood is easier to match than traditional treatments like bone marrow, and treatments are often more successful.
The process is simple, women fill out all the paperwork early on in their pregnancy, and then they receive a donation kit that they take with them to the hospital. The blood is collected from the umbilical cord and placenta about 10 minutes after delivery and banked.
Ober said it really is that easy to save a life, even for a newborn.
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