Did you know that nearly seven percent of 12th grade boys use or have used sterioids to build muscle mass and improve athletic performance?  And that these synthetic male hormones can surpress the testes ability to make sperm?  And how about recreational drugs?  Or frequent bike riding or racing on particularly thin bike seats? Or even cigarettes and cologne?

It is admittedly difficult to anticipate male factor infertility challenges when making a family is not the first thing on your mind.  But if you think Father’s Day is in your future, read up on how what you do today can impact how easy it is to become a dad in the future.

Back in March, we wrote about a Today Show segment about a baby who had been treated for cerebral palsy using his own cord blood.  Another child from the Duke University study treating cerebral palsy has been introduced to the media.  A little girl from Colorado also received the cord blood stem cell treatment.  Read the full story here.

Parents who are deciding whether to bank their baby’s cord blood have so many sources of information, but often don’t know what to believe.  While cord blood bank sites can be valuable sources of information, they are first and foremost developed to sell the company’s services so might be considered biased.  There is an unbiased source of information that can help parents to determine if cord blood banking is right for them.

The site is the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood.  According to its mission statement, the site was developed to provide parents with impartial education about cord blood medical research and cord blood storage options.  This site is a great non-commercial resource for information about cord blood banking.

We are often asked by parents what happens if a physician does not know how to collect their baby’s cord blood.  While this is becoming less likely as more and more doctors gain experience with collection, it is still a concern for many patients.  The great thing is that parent’s don’t need to worry about this.  The collection kit comes with very specific instructions that can be followed easily by any medical professional.  In addition, M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories has 24-7 medical assistance where a physician can speak to our medical staff for clarification if he has any questions or concerns.  Cord blood collection is easier than ever and as more and more physicians gain experience with cord blood collection, this question will no longer be an issue.

Parents frequently ask us if another family member can use the cord blood or if it is reserved solely for the baby.  The answer to that is very simple.  Since you are the person banking the cord blood, you own it.  You can provide it to anyone you wish.  If another family member is a match you can choose to give it to him.  Of course, the only person for whom the cord blood is likely to be a perfect match is the baby (or an identical twin).   

One of the questions frequently asked of our cord blood coordinators is, “Why do you need to know about my travel history?”  This is because one of the questions on our health history form asks about parents’ travel history outside the U.S.  We ask this because the NY State Department of Health requires that we keep this information on record.  The information is important in case a health advisory were to be issued for a certain country for a specific period of time (similar to Great Britain during the mad cow scare).  If that were to happen, all of the records would be available.

Any cord blood bank that is licensed in NY State is required to collect this information.  It is important to guarantee the safety of all of the cord blood in our care.

M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories has posted the August issue of Waiting for Baby on its Web site.  August’s issue offers information on the stages of labor expectant mothers will go through.  It also offers an article on what to wear when you are expecting.  If you wish to subscribe, click here.  Waiting for Baby will be delivered to your email inbox every month.

Many parents we speak with understand that saving cord blood is a good thing, but don’t really understand why it is more beneficial than relying on the public cord blood bank.

The biggest reason why a baby’s own cord blood is better than donated cord blood is because of HLA matching.  HLA stands for human leukocyte antigen.  These are markers within the human body’s cells that tell the body which cells belong and which are invaders.  When using donated cord blood or bone marrow, surgeons require a match of at least six key markers.  When using a child’s own cord blood stem cells, a complete match is guaranteed.  This promotes engraftment of the cells while preventing host versus graft disease. 

M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories is offering readers of my blog a discount of $50 off of M.A.Z.E.’s state-of-the-art cord blood banking for the month of August.  M.A.Z.E. is not offering this discount through any other blogs, just this one.  Simply use discount code BLOG when registering.

M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories sets the industry standard for cord blood banking and manages to provide the best quality cord blood banking at an affordable price.  M.A.Z.E. does this by foregoing expensive advertising and promotional campaigns.  M.A.Z.E. invests in the areas that most benefits parents, the processing and storage of their babies’ cord blood.

For additional information on the offer, you can call M.A.Z.E. at (914) 683-0000 or send an email to information@mazecordblood.com.  This offer can not be combined with any other offer and is valid for 20 year registrations only.  Registration forms may be submitted by mail, fax or email but must be postmarked or otherwise dated by 8/31/08.

Take advantage of this discount to get America’s best cord blood banking at an even lower price than usual. 

Many cord blood banks (including M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories) offer gift registries for parents who choose to bank their baby’s cord blood.  These registries are a great way for parents to get assistance with paying for this life-saving opportunity.  As we have mentioned in the past, cord blood banking is expensive (even with M.A.Z.E. which is less expensive than most other banks).  Gift registries allow parents to receive assistance with paying for the bank without having to actually ask for the money. 

M.A.Z.E.’s registry works like this…

Once parents have registered to bank their infant’s cord blood, they can go online and register for the gift registry.  Once they have registered, we will send an email announcement out to those friends and family members the expectant mom (or dad) would like to reach.  The email includes information on how to make a contribution.  M.A.Z.E. keeps track of all contributions and informs parents who has given them a gift and how much.  Once the baby is born, the parents’ credit card is charged for the remaining balance.

Different families take advantage of the gift registry at different levels.  We have had some parents who have only contacted one or two people and received a couple of hundred dollars towards their banking.  We have had many other parents who have had their entire cord blood banking paid for through gifts from friends and family.

If cord blood banking is something important to you, but you find it too expensive, a gift registry is a great way to bring it into economic range.  If there are friends and family members that want to give you a gift, cord blood banking offers them that opportunity (without expensive shipping charges for those friends and family member who live far away). 

If you are considering cord blood banking, ask your cord blood bank if they offer a gift registry.  This might be a way to bring cord blood banking into range for many parents who otherwise could not afford it.