Cord Blood

The Gift of Life

By Ginnie Waters

Having a baby is a time when you have more questions than answers. From whether to have amniocentesis to deciding which method of delivery is best for you, new parents are thinking about everything from breastfeeding to baby names. Advice seems to run rampant from doctors, families and friends.

But just as the ultimate responsibility of raising a child falls on the parents, the decision about whether to save stem cells from cord blood arises.

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth. This blood contains stem cells, which are genetically unique to your baby and immediate family members. These same cells, which are routinely discarded after a newborn's birth, have the potential to be used in life-saving treatments.

The simple procedure to save cord blood cells can only take place at birth, is painless and poses no risk to mother or baby. Upon arrangements made by expectant parents, stem cells in the cord blood are collected in a blood bag or syringe, then sent overnight to a special lab where they are separated, frozen and "banked," either in a private facility or donated to a public bank.

Sandy attributed the bruises on her 18-month-old son to be the result of the normal bangs and falls of a toddler. But then other things began to alarm her and her husband. Nose bleeds, fever and loss of appetite concerned his parents who brought him to a hospital. A few months later he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare bone marrow disorder characterized by an impaired immune system and a bone marrow that is not producing enough red blood cells.

"Our first reaction to his diagnosis was no, that's not possible; I mean, he was born a fine, healthy, normal baby," says Sandy, who asked that her last name not be used.

Her son was hospitalized and went through a series of treatments. His worried mother spent all her time taking care of him and was exhausted, which was to be expected. What she didn't expect was to discover that she was pregnant again. A nurse where her son was being treated told her about Cord Blood Registry (CBR), a private family cord blood bank in northern California.

"I'd heard a little bit about stem cells, but I never really thought of it for our situation," says Sandy.

What was clear, however, is that Sandy's son's body wasn't responding to the blood transfusions and his parents were in shock and unsure of what to do next. "The doctors did tell us at the time that if he was not coming in for his transfusions he will die," says Sandy.

It's a frightening story with a happy ending. Sandy delivered a healthy baby boy and his cord blood stem cells were a perfect match for her little boy. CBR collected the new baby's cord blood for free as part of the Designated Transplant Program (DTP), a public service that offers free cord blood storage for families dealing with a life-threatening illness that can be treated with a stem cell transplant.

While the story is frightening, it's even more frightening to think what would have happened if Sandy and her husband hadn't known about cord blood.

Want to see more?

• Cord Blood Storage: Preserving a Lifeline for the Future
• Birth Presentations and Delivery: A Guide for Baby's Arrival
• The Birth Plan: Helpful or Troublesome?
• Talk about it!