a gift of life
Umbilical Cord Blood Donation
Making the decision to donate your umbilical cord blood could possibly save someone's life. Blood from the umbilical cord contains a particular type of blood cell called hematopoietic stem cells. These stem cells are used to treat and cure immune deficiencies, blood disorders, metabolic diseases, and even some cancers. Hematopoietic cells can develop into all types of blood cells, including white or red blood cells and platelets. Their flexibility makes these cells particularly useful for transplants if no adult donor is a good match for the patient or the patient needs a transplant quickly. If you are an expectant parent interested in donating your baby's umbilical cord blood, speak to a Mov2Liv clinician about donorship today.
Diseases Treated with Stem Cell Transplants
Autologous transplantation can be used to treat a person who is diagnosed with:
- Amyloidosis
- Germ cell tumors (testicular cancer)
Allogeneic transplantation can be used to treat a person who is diagnosed with:
- Acute leukemia
- Amegakaryocytosis or congenital thrombocytopenia
- Aplastic anemia or refractory anemia
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Familial erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
- Myelodysplastic syndrome of another myelodysplastic disorder
- Osteopetrosis
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
- Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
Either autologous or allogeneic transplantation may be used to treat people diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or multiple myeloma, depending on the subtype of disease and how advanced it is.
Birth Tissue Donation
What is Birth Tissue? Birth tissue is gestational tissue that can be donated after the delivery of a living newborn. Donated birth tissue is often used in reconstructive procedures to promote healing, and to treat burns and painful wounds.
Donated birth tissue can include:
- Placenta
- Amniotic membrane
- Chorionic membrane
- Amniotic fluid
- Umbilical cord tissue
- Umbilical veins
- Wharton’s jelly
How can birth tissue donation help? Many people face long waits and poor medical alternatives for lack of a tissue transplant. Tissue donation helps end needless suffering and saves lives.
Donated birth tissue can be used to help treat patients in many ways, including:
- Treatment of painful, non-healing wounds
- Treatment of burns
- Reconstructive procedures to promote healing and reduce scarring
- Spinal procedures to alleviate pain from scar tissue
Birth tissue also has ophthalmologic, orthopedic and gynecological uses, and supports the development of new treatments and scientific research. As noted by AATB, the increasing demand for birth tissue has been the single largest driver of the overall growth in living tissue donors.
The greatest gift anyone can give is life to another. The placenta is generally discarded, but when you donate your placenta, you are giving someone who needs it most a chance at life. Partner with Mov2Liv non-profit, and together we will help those whose lives are at stake, and Mov2Liv will set up your baby's college fund or give you funds as an expression of appreciation.
A mother qualifies to donate her placenta if she does not have any disease that could be passed on to a patient who receives transplant products made from her birth tissues. The mother's blood will be drawn, and medical records checked to ensure that the placenta can be donated.