Canadian Moms May Donate Umbilical Cords to New Umbilical Cord Bank

Canadian Moms May Donate Umbilical Cords to New Umbilical Cord Bank (photo Dreamstime)

Vancouver, Canada – Canadian women have one more reason to choose the BC Women’s Hospital for their labor & delivery services. This is because the hospital is poised to join a new service called the National Public Cord Blood Bank which accepts as donations new born umbilical cords to be used towards medical advancements. The beneficiaries of any resulting treatments will be fellow Canadians.

The new plan allows BC Women’s Hospital to partner with the non-profit Canadian Blood Services which serves the entire nation. Umbilical cords are often regarded as post-partum refuse, but the truth is they are rich in stem cells which can be used to treat people suffering from both lymphoma and leukemia.

BC Women’s Hospital isn’t the only hospital participating in the new program. Hospital labor and delivery wards across the cities of Edmonton and Brampton are also participating. It should be noted that donations are only accepted from women age 18 and older who are in good health.

Dr. Graham Sher, Canadian Blood Services’ CEO, said the National Public Cord Blood Bank will make use of a stem cell network capable of locating better matches for their services. This will allow improved matching for Caucasians, multi-ethnic people, aboriginals, African-Canadians, and Hispanics.

On The Web:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/women/Moms+encouraged+donate+babys+umbilical+cord+blood+future/9368689/story.html