Why shouldn’t my patients discard their newborn’s umbilical cord blood at birth?
Relating to the disposition of their newborn’s umbilical cord blood, all expectant parents generally have the option to: • Preserve as a potential autologous (self) benefit for the newborn, and possibly for the newborn’s sibling(s) and other family members • Donate for use by an unrelated recipient, for allogeneic transplants or for research • Discard at birth as medical waste Many will certainly come to you for advice. Since your counsel could impact the potential saving of a life, you should consider all of the following vital information before you respond to their queries: • Medical researchers have discovered umbilical/placental cord blood is rich in stem cells • Stem cells produce other blood cells and can rebuild the immune system • Cord blood stem cells have been successfully transplanted and used to treat a number of diseases Every month, hundreds of OB/GYN’s are joining their peers in advising their patients to not discard their baby’s umbilical cord blood at birth—one day po
