News

Aug 2012   The unfortunate "state of the weight" in the United States is that over the past 50 years, the number of Americans classified as overweight or obese has climbed from 13% to two-thirds. Of particular importance to women's health care practitioners is the fact that more than 40% of pregnant women are either overweight or obese.

Jul 2012   The maternal and family health questionnaires that mothers usually complete before the collection of their baby's cord blood are designed to safeguard the health of the cord blood recipient. These questionnaires are an important component of the health evaluation, along with the testing of the maternal blood sample for infectious disease markers.

Jul 2012   One of the advantages of cord blood (CB) as a source of stem cells for transplantation is the ability to use "not perfect" matches, which means that the donor's CB and patient do not have to match at all HLA antigens. As a result, more patients can find suitable CB units.

Jul 2012   Leukemia is a random killer. It can strike any one of us at any time. But for many, there is hope of a cure through a bone marrow, blood stem cell or umbilical cord blood transplant. That is, of course, if a suitable donor - including cord blood - can be found. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, Gift of Life is one of the nation's public blood cell registries facilitating transplants for children and adults suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, other cancers and genetic diseases.

Jun 2012   Nita Thompson of African American Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Registry for Sickle Cell Disease Awareness volunteered to run the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood exhibit booth at the 2012 Cord Blood Symposium

Jun 2012   Recent reports show that teen pregnancy and births in the U.S. have reached an all-time low, so it's tempting for parents, healthcare providers, and community leaders to think, "problem solved!" and move on to another issue. But here is the reality: Approximately 750,000 teen pregnancies occur annually in the U.S., and roughly one in three teen girls gets pregnant before age 20.

Jun 2012   Amniotic fluid has been used for more than 70 years for prenatal diagnosis (1). It is extracted, by a procedure called "amniocentesis", generally between the 14th and 20th weeks of pregnancy, to assess for genetic birth defects. In addition to the fluid required for testing, the doctor will also withdraw a small amount (a few milliliters) of additional fluid, in case any further testing is required. That extra fluid could be used to isolate fetal stem cells from the baby, as it contains a varied population of cells that originate from the tissues of the baby's skin, respiratory, digestive and urinary tracts.

May 2012   Diabetes is present in 2-6% of pregnant women in the United States; 88% of these women have gestational diabetes (GDM). This is a form of diabetes which appears during pregnancy, typically during the second or third trimester. The prevalence of GDM has increased due to the increased incidence of obesity in the US. The remaining 12% of pregnant women with diabetes have pre-existing type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

May 2012   Umbilical cord blood (UCB) contains many stem cells per volume, more than adult bone marrow. In the past 20 years, UCB transplants have saved thousands of people suffering from disorders of the blood and immune system. Since 2005, UCB transplants are known to cure Krabbe's disease [1], a neurological disease that prevents myelination, and a variety of metabolic disorders [2]. Many researchers have reported that UCB may be beneficial for acquired neurological conditions such as stroke [3-4] and cerebral palsy [5-6].

May 2012   The idea of forming our Foundation came as a result of not knowing what to do with our emotions after we lost our beautiful daughter to a very rare form of Leukemia known as AML-M7. With the help of family and friends it was decided to honor Kacey's life by helping other families that are battling childhood cancer. During our daughter's 15 month fight, we witnessed many unfortunate consequences of a child being diagnosed with cancer. When Kacey relapsed shortly after completing the standard 5 rounds of chemo normally used to treat her disease, the only option left was for her to undergo a bone marrow transplant. We were relieved to have this treatment option. That feeling quickly went away when we found out that there was not a single match for Kacey in the entire world registry. We were devastated, how could this be?