North Central Baptist Hospital and Southeast Baptist Hospital are partnered with the Texas Cord Blood Bank in an effort to collect umbilical cord blood that can benefit patients suffering from a number of potentially fatal diseases.

Umbilical cord blood, which is normally discarded after the birth of a baby, is rich in blood-making cells that can be used as an alternative to bone marrow transplants to treat cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, disorders of the blood-making system such as sickle-cell anemia and severe immune-system disorders.

Nurses, physicians and other hospital staff undergo extensive training in preparation for collections. Labor and delivery nurses share responsibility for the collection of cord blood donations. There is no cost to parents associated with donating, and the cord blood will help build a state-wide cord blood bank that captures the vast ethnic diversity of Texans, as ethnicity plays a key role in finding a suitable genetic match for patients.

Women delivering at North Central Baptist or Southeast Baptist Hospital can opt to complete a brief screening questionnaire similar to one necessary when donating blood. For those who are eligible to donate, the delivery proceeds normally with the physician simply draining cord blood from the umbilical cord and placenta shortly after the baby is delivered. Physicians traditionally collect cord blood samples in order for the hospital to determine blood type and run basic tests before discarding the umbilical cord and placenta.

Collections are sent with a complete nine-page maternal history to the Texas Cord Blood Bank in San Antonio where the blood is processed and tested within hours of arrival. Once the donated unit passes all quality criteria, it is then stored and made available for search by transplant centers. The Texas Cord Blood Bank distributes a unit as a match is found for a patient in need.

For more information visit http://www.bloodntissue.org/texascordbloodbank.asp.