Making a Difference, Why I LOVE What I Do!!!!

I often get asked why am I so passionate about cord blood banking and relentlessly advocate how storing your baby's cord blood can be a potentially life changing decision. Well, I wanted to share today the answer to that question.

It's December 7th, 2011 and in one week a young lady, Robyn McKinney, that I have had the enormous pleasure of meeting and getting to know will welcome to this world a new addition to her family, a son to be named Laine Michael McKinney. The birth of a new child is a joyous occasion but this one is a little more special and dear to my heart.

What is special about her delivery is that she is banking her son's umbilical cord blood. Yes this is not the first time this has ever been done but those precious cord blood stem cells have already been marked for donation to a family member for transplant. One of the mother's relatives whom everyone calls "Bre" suffered a traumatic brain injury 3 years ago. Since "Bre's " mother had not been made aware about cord blood banking at the time she was delivered, she did not have the chance to do cord blood banking. Along with the news that a related donors cord blood stem cells will now be able to be banked and stored for transplant, Bre also has been accepted into two transplant programs, one using placental stem cells and the other using these donated stem cells from baby Laine's umbilical cord blood. Doctors have given the transplants an 85% success rate and the whole community is deep in prayer that they may see "the old Bre" back again after the transplants along with the therapy to follow.

It is such a wonderful feeling to know that by chance I was able to meet with this great family, tell them my story and share my knowledge about cord blood banking and now in just a few short months, a brave girl who has suffered major setbacks and obstacles now has hope for a better life. Playing albeit a small part in this wonderful story makes me smile and reinforces my conviction that saving your baby's cord blood saves lives!!! I am so honored to write this today and wish Robyn, Bre, and baby Laine all the best and pray for a wonderful outcome. You never know how one decision can reshape someone's future for the rest of their life. I URGE EVERY EXPECTING PARENT to please learn more about the life saving potential cord blood banking offers, this could be your child or relative one day. Today I am so proud to be the President & CEO of The Cord Group!

Grant Funds Study of Umbilical Cord Blood to Treat Cancer Patients

http://www.texasmedicalcenter.org/root/en/TMCServices/News/2011/12-01/Grant+Funds+Study.htm

A $12 million, five-year grant is helping Texas Medical Center researchers improve the use of cord blood – taken from the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby’s birth – to treat cancer patients.

Great news for the citizens of Texas!!!

THE PRECIOUS CELL

http://www.haematologica.com/content/96/1/134.short

Outcomes after related and unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation for hereditary bone marrow failure syndromes other than Fanconi anemia

In the study, results showed that the 3 year survival rate after a cord blood stem cell transplant was 95% using a related donor vs. 61% from an unrelated donor.

"Conclusions In patients with hereditary bone marrow failure syndromes, related umbilical cord blood transplantation is associated with excellent outcomes while increasing cell dose and better HLA matching might provide better results in unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation."

In the time that I have spent studying and researching every aspect of cord blood banking I can, I have seen a heated debate about the two cord blood banking options: public donation or private banking. Is there a right answer that one is better than the other? I can almost say with complete certainty their are studies out there that say unrelated donor outcomes show higher success rates. The study above shows some fantastic results and are extremely encouraging. So is one option better than the other? I don't think so, their is plenty of room for both the private and public option. My argument is two fold. One, I personally think that no matter which road a parent decides, the last thing that should happen is the cord blood be discarded. In every single cord blood sample, their sits a potentially life-saving treatment for someone in this world. Two, it is not anyone else's choice to decide which route to take whether it be private or public but THE PARENTS. A family should have access to all the information possible and THEMSELVES make an educated and informed decision. Lack of information and awareness are the number one driver on why so few samples are being saved when one looks at the amount of cord blood being stored vs the amount of babies being born every minute. We have 27 states that have some form of pro cord blood banking legislation yet so few expecting mothers are aware about this service until after the fact. More needs to be done to inform the masses about the wonders being discovered daily using cord blood stem cells. Scientists, researchers, and the medical community are breaking down barriers once thought a pipe dream on a regular basis and in my opinion the future has never looked brighter. The accomplishments made using cord blood stem cells in the short amount of time this type of treatment option has been used is anything short of AMAZING! If you read this, please share this with others so they can help reach out to an expecting family that may miss their opportunity because they were not informed about cord blood banking. You could potentially save a life by doing so.

A special thanks to Dr. Frances Verter. In my opinion, she has single handily created a precedent for cord blood education and awareness. The whole industry owes her a debt of gratitude for all the hard work she has done over the years. She is someone I admire very much.

Stem Cells Show Promise for Repairing Damaged Hearts

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2011/12/04/stem-cells-show-promise-for-repairing-damaged-hearts/

The promise of stem cell research just got a lot brighter.

There was some very good news from the world of medicine just a couple of weeks ago. For the first time, stem cells were injected into the hearts of humans who had suffered serious heart damage, and patients improved dramatically. It appears that, as everyone hoped, the stem cells grew into new heart cells to replaced the damaged tissue. This is the promise of all stem cell research: to repair or replace damaged organs that otherwise would never recover. In principle, we can someday use the same technique to replace damaged livers, kidneys, spinal cords, cartilege, and virtually all other tissues in the human body.

In the new study, just published in The Lancet, a group of researchers led by Robert Bolli grew stem cells from patients’ own hearts, after the patients had suffered serious heart attacks, leaving their hearts permanently damaged. Bolli explained to CNN reporter Caleb Hellerman:

“Once you reach this stage of heart disease, you don’t get better. You can go down slowly, or go down quickly, but you’re going to go down.”

And yet in this study, they did not "go down." They got better!

This is just an excerpt from the article but I think just this little bit of information speaks VOLUMES. Cardiac/Heart disease is if not one if not the top killer in adults today. Could we be on the cusp of a world where one has a heart attack and we will have the ability to inject stem cells and they will repair the damage instead of having to resort to a total heart transplant which a matching donor must be located first before anything else can move forward? We are as a say many times "in the midst of a medical revolution" brought on by the almost magical powers that stem cells provide. The same adult stem cells in pristine condition that can be found in baby;s umbilical cord blood are discarded by the thousands daily. What more does science, researchers, and the medical community need to provide to make one realize that saving your baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells could be a life-saving decision for every expectant parent. This is a great article, please pass this along to your friends and family, the masses need to see the medical revolution unfolding right before our eyes!!!!

Review of Cord Blood Stem Cells

http://www.healthandfitnessarticlesblog.com/blood-cord-bank-a-review-of-cord-blood-stem-cells/

Here is a nice little blog article regarding some common questions regarding cord blood stem cells.

"At the moment leukemia and anemia are the two most common diseases handled with stem cell transfusions since stem cell research is expanding in quantity and benefits diseases such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and a lot of various forms of cancer are showing good results."

The world wide web is LOADED with information about the life-saving potential of cord blood stem cells. If you would like to see a few videos regarding cord blood banking, I provided a link below.

http://www.youtube.com/TheCordGroup

Cord Blood Stem Cells Have The Power To Save Lives

http://moneysavingmichele.com/2011/12/cord-blood-stem-cells-have-the-power-to-save-lives/.html

"Newborn stem cells can be found in cord blood and the umbilical cord itself, referred to as cord tissue. Umbilical cords are noncontroversial sources of valuable stem cells that are collected after the umbilical cord has been cut and removed, so no harm or pain to baby.

Cord Blood Stem Cells can be harvested and used in treatments for Cancer, Blood disorders, Immune Disorders and Metabolic Disorders. I am sure most of us know someone that has been stricken with one of these illnesses and required treatments."

Great little blog article about cord blood stem cells. These are not controversial as the cord is discarded after delivery as medical waste. But every time someone throws away an umbilical cord full of pristine cord blood stem cells, they are discarding someone's possible "new lease on life" Learn more by visiting the link below for free information about cord blood banking.

goo.gl/0l1Sm