Mount Nittany Medical Center is now offering a cord blood donation program through the Dan Berger Cord Blood Program.
Cord blood is the blood that is left from the umbilical cord after a woman gives birth. Rich in stems cells, this cord blood – along with blood from the placenta — can be collected and stored to help save lives.
Instead of having the blood discarded after a baby’s birth, families may choose to have this blood collected and placed into a public bank, where doctors may use it in the future to help treat those with serious, life-threatening diseases. Another option is to have the cord blood stored privately for the donating family.
Cord blood is used to help treat cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma, life-threatening blood disorders, and more. Additionally, cord blood is used regularly for research purposes. One of the biggest benefits of cord blood is the fact that it does not have to be a direct match with the recipient’s tissue type.
There is no cost to donate to a public bank, but private storage requires a fee.
“We are literally saving lives with this new program,” says Linda Solano, program coordinator for Mount Nittany Medical Center. “After a baby is born, the blood from the umbilical cord is no longer needed. Rather than discarding the blood, this blood can be stored and used to help save lives.”
Dr. Jennifer Gilbert, pain management, Mount Nittany Health, was actually the first mother to donate her cord blood at Mount Nittany Medical Center with the birth of her son, Max.
“I’ve previously worked on labor and delivery units and I’ve seen firsthand how impactful cord blood can be, especially to a young child facing a disease like leukemia,” says Gilbert. “It was an easy decision for me to make, especially since my baby nor I no longer need it, and it has the ability to make another child or family healthy again.”
Dr. Gilbert says the process of registering as a donor is quite easy, only taking a few moments to fill out an online or physical form.
“I’m excited to see this program take off, and I’m happy that I was able to be the first donor. I would like to think that if my child needed help, there would be a family out there who is generous enough to donate,” she says.
To learn more about the option of cord blood donation, women should speak directly with their OB/GYN team during pregnancy or visit mountnittany.org.
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