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.

Researchers in Italy have discovered a new way to administer cord blood transplants for leukemia patients.  Leukemia was one of the first diseases treated using cord blood transplants.  Traditionally, leukemia is treated with a cord blood transplant that is administered through a vein in the patient’s arm.  The Italian scientists attempted a new method of administration, injection directly into the patient’s bone. 

The study incorporated patients where a cord blood transplant was indicated, but the physicians were unable to identify a match of at least 6 HLA (the minimum currently required for a transplant).  Researchers encountered excellent levels of engraftment and low rates of graft-versus-host disease,  a concern with unrelated cord blood transplants.

If further researcher proves this treatment to be successful, it will improve the likelihood of leukemia patients being able to find a match in a public cord blood bank.  That will be especially beneficial for patients with mixed race or other unique backgrounds who currently find it nearly impossible to find a match in a public cord blood bank.   

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.