GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Michigan Blood's Cord Blood Bank in Grand Rapids has reached a milestone. This month it shipped out its 100th life-saving unit of stem cells.
That unit will be given to a 14-year-old boy who is battling leukemia.
Right now 3,600 cord blood stem cell units are being stored in the lab at Michigan Blood.
The white blood cells can be used to help someone fight a life-threatening disease.
Deeon Wetzel was the first woman in West Michigan to donate her baby's cord blood to the bank.
“No harm to the baby, no harm to the mother. The placenta is actually considered medical waste after the baby is born, so why not,” said Dionne Wetzel of Jenison.
Last Christmas her daughter's cord blood matched a small child in desperate need of a transplant. Wetzel's baby girl, now 12-years-old, saved the life of a complete stranger.
According to the national Marrow Donor Program, 10,000 patients are in need of transplants every year, but only about a half will find a match.
Great Story, Lives being saved everyday with cord blood stem cells.........MrCordBlood
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