June 13, 2011

Cord blood banking – is it for you?

We at BOGA are supportive of cord blood banking efforts if patients are interested in pursuing this.  For private cord blood banking, patients are directed to contact private companies on their own. Your delivering physician would be happy to collect cord blood at the time of delivery if the kit is provided. We have also been looking into options to help make public cord blood banking easier. Dr. Shayne More, president of BOGA and Chair of Ob/Gyn at St. Joseph Hospital is working on avenues to facilitate this process for our patients. At this time, there are no easy options to publicly bank cord blood in Whatcom County. We will continue to work on this issue. Some patients have had success coordinating this through the University of Washington. For more general information on cord blood banking, please click here to read the 2010 American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists statement.

Please ask your BOGA physician for a cord blood donation information folder if you are interested in public cord blood donation. We also have a DVD for interested individuals that goes over cord blood collection, background, and technique.  For additional information please contact the Puget Sound Blood Center or find out more at marrow.org.