A few weeks ago, we wrote about a federal bill to educate expectant parents about cord blood banking.  Ohio is not even waiting for the federal government to consider it, the state is in the process of passing its own legislation.

Cord blood banking is an important opportunity for expectant parents and it is beneficial for them to have unbiased information about such options.  According to the legislation, doctors in Ohio will be required to educate their patients about the cord blood storage process and will provide information to help with the decision process.

Parents in Ohio parents will have all of the information available to them in order to make an informed decision about banking baby’s cord blood.

M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories is in favor of any programs that encourage the education of expectant parents.  We work closely with non-profit educational organizations (as well as our local public bank) to ensure that parents have all the information they need to be comfortable with their decision.

CTV recently ran a story about a young Canadian boy, Lucas Blake, who is searching for a stem cell match.  Lucas is suffering from Fanconi anemia, an inherited disorder where the patient’s bone marrow is unable to manufacture new blood cells.  His father is Jamaican and his mother is Portuguese, making a mixed race match even more challenging.  Since a cord blood match requires matching DNA markers and HLA antigens, it is even more difficult to find a stem cell match for a mixed-race patient.

A few years ago, the family was excited to learn that they were expecting a baby.  Their older son was not a match for Lucas, maybe the new baby would be.  The family might be able to use the new baby’s cord blood to treat Lucas.  Unfortunately, the new baby was not a match and, he too was suffering from Fanconi’s anemia.

According to the story, 70% of patients are unable to find a stem cell match within their family.  This is why cord blood banks and bone marrow registries are so important.  A baby’s birth is the only time that cord blood can be saved.  Unfortunately, there is no way to know at birth if the cord blood will be needed.  While bone marrow registries and public cord blood banks offer options, they can’t guarantee a match.

Learn more about the differences between public vs. private cord blood banking.

M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories is offering a $500 savings bond giveaway.

Dedicated to helping parents save money, M.A.Z.E. will give one lucky family a $500 savings bond to help you start saving for college.  No purchase is necessary to win.

While you are on the site reading about cord blood banking, vist the savings bond giveaway page for a chance to win!

Popular Science recently published an in-depth article on stem cell research and some of the treatments that scientists are exploring with stem cells. While a large part of the article is dedicated to embryonic stem cells, the writer includes quite a bit of information on cord blood stem cells as well. It is a great article and offers a wonderful explanation of the different types of stem cells that are currently being explored.