Umbilical Cord Blood: Give the gift of life for Mother’s Day

Dear Editor,

This Mother’s Day, I’d like to thank all the expectant mothers who plan to donate their baby’s umbilical cord blood to a public cord blood bank, such as the Cord for Life® program at Lifeforce Cryobanks.

Your compassion means that someone with a life-threatening disease may get a second chance at life. Donated cord blood that meets the requirements can be listed on the Be The Match Registry® and made available to anyone who needs a blood stem cell transplant.

Cord blood, usually disposed of after birth, is rich in blood-forming cells and can be used to help treat more than 70 different diseases, including leukemia, sickle cell anemia and other blood cancers. Cord blood donations are especially needed from African American and Asian communities, as patients within these communities have difficulty finding donor matches.

There is no cost to donate to a public cord blood bank and donation is safe for moms and babies. Cord blood is collected right after birth and does not change the labor or delivery.  You can donate locally at Mercy Medical Center or St. Agnes Hospital through a collaboration with Morgan State University and the Save the Cord Foundation.

There is no greater gift than the gift of life. Since its inception, Lifeforce Cryobanks has banked more than 5,000 cord blood units from generous moms around the country and shipped more than 100 units for transplants, but more donations are needed to help save more lives. Visit BeTheMatch.org/cord to learn more.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Donald Hudspeth

Lifeforce Cryobanks
270 Northlake Boulevard, Suite 1012
32701 Altamonte Springs, Florida