Investments in maternal health are reaping powerful results. It’s hard for those of us lucky enough to live in developed countries to imagine why anyone would die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. We know it happens and there are outlyer examples; but generally, this is not the expectation in our communities Well, globally, the …
Continue ReadingCord Blood Banking conversation down under
Here’s a peek at the conversation in Australia regarding the pros and cons of private and public cord blood banking. It’s so interesting how different parts of the world are in different places when it comes to this conversation. In the US, there’s legislation pending requiring OBGYNs to advise patients of the availablility of cord …
Continue ReadingDuke University receives $10 MM to aid cord blood research
We came across this interesting website dedicated to the science around stem cells and bone marrow. This is always a challenge since it’s not always clear whether these sites are above board, or just shills for cord blood companies. www.Chxa.com reports that Duke University received $10 million from the Robertson Foundation, a family foundation started …
Continue ReadingBone marrow matching difficult for African Americans and mixed race families
We often come across corroborating evidence that matching bone marrow for African Americans and mixed race families continues to be an uphill battle. The stories of young people who suffer through grueling treatments because a match cannot be found are heart-breaking. If you are reading this, and you are African American, of mixed race origin, or …
Continue ReadingCord Blood matches buy time for bone marrow matches
As we know, finding a match for a bone marrow transplant is so difficult, and this is particularly heart-wrenching when the recipient in need is a child. Here’s a story of an 11-year old boy suffering from a relapse in his leukemia, and who has just received a cord blood transplant when a match was found while …
Continue ReadingTips for limiting your family’s exposure to BPA
BPA, or Bisphenol-A, is an industrial chemical used to manufacture a range of plastic products, including water bottles and the lining of food and beverage cans and, yes, sippy cups. The chemical is now also found in an overwhelming majority of Americans, and a recent study found traces of it in 90 percent of infant …
Continue ReadingShaquille O’Neal asks us to register as bone marrow donors
You gotta see this. It’s charming and compelling. It’s great when celebs chime in to encourage us to do the right thing. We wrote about BeTheMatch.org a few weeks back. It’s a drive to get people to register to donate their bone marrow if they are a match with an ill person. There’s a big …
Continue ReadingFinding a trustworth Cord Blood Bank: It’s good to know your stuff
I read a blog today – wow, what a mouthful! It’s written by a popular blogger in Singapore but it has just about every argument known to mankind about banking cord blood. I almost believed she worked for one of the banks but I couldnt find any link or advertising. Here’s the blog entry on …
Continue ReadingTwo sides of the cord blood story
As you know, it’s sometimes hard to separate real journalism from hype when it comes to the web. Today we came upon a blog posting on Newsweek.com by Mary Carmichael in an e-column called “The human condition.” The blogger tells of her decision not to bank her baby’s cord blood, and goes on to support …
Continue ReadingSickle Cell and unmatched donors
Recently we saw a story, a heartbreaker, really, about a boy with Sickle Cell Anemia, a serious disease in which the body makes misshapen red blood cells who had a bone marrow transplant. To have the transplant, the child had to go through chemotherapy to kill his immune system – a standard protocol for the …
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