Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center will host a free community presentation Tuesday, Jan. 29, about cord blood banking, which is now available at the facility. The event will feature Matthew Farrow, recipient of the world's first successful umbilical cord blood transplant, Dr. Hal Broxmeyer, a pioneer in the cord blood banking and transplant field, NBA basketball legend Julius "Dr. J" Erving and more.
Cord blood is the blood left over in the umbilical cord and placenta that is typically thrown away after the baby is born. The cord blood consists of stem cells and progenitor cells that can copy or evolve into more cells, which can be used to treat more than 70 terminal illnesses such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia.
With this new offering, parents that deliver at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center can now donate their baby's umbilical cord blood to a public cord blood bank. Gina Dado, MD, is a Scottsdale obstetrician/gynecologist and a national umbilical cord stem cell educator for CORD:USE, which is a partner with Scottsdale Healthcare for this endeavor. "Cord blood can be a life-saving option for many children and adults and many more lives would be saved if all families either stored or donated their babies' cord blood," Dr. Dado said.
Highly accessible, cord blood can be donated to public banks at no cost, or it can be banked for family use in a private bank for a fee. Both are attainable through CORD:USE and now at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center. The first successful transplant was performed in 1988. Since Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act in 2005, more than 30,000 cord blood transplants have taken place worldwide.
To learn more about this new service, Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center invites you to RSVP to their event on Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 9 until 11 a.m., by calling 480-882-4636. The event will be held at 9003 E. Shea Blvd. and will feature several guest speakers and a continental breakfast.
For more information on Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, please visit www.shc.org.
