Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen Becomes Newest Collection Site For Texas Cord Blood Bank
Moms in Allen, Texas can now save lives through cord blood donation
SAN ANTONIO (August 9, 2010) – Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen joins the Texas Cord Blood Bank (TCBB) as the 15th hospital in the state to collect life-saving cord blood donations. 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.
“We are pleased to be the first hospital in Collin County to offer this phenomenal benefit to our community,” said Sheila McKinney, president of Texas Health Allen.
Carla Chila, director of Women and Infant Services at the hospital, emphasized the primary advantage the Texas Cord Blood Bank offers patients who utilize the new service.
“In the event that your child requires cord-blood treatment, it’s critical that it comes from a diverse source,” said Carla Chila, director of Women and Infant Services at the hospital. Collaborating with the Texas Cord Blood Bank, and its network of donor hospitals, is just the right thing to do for our patients.”
The Texas Cord Blood Bank is a non-profit program established by the Texas legislature in 2001 to collect umbilical cord blood that can benefit patients suffering from a number of potentially fatal diseases. Since the program began collecting in 2005, more than 30,000 donations have been collected.
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.
“We are very excited Texas Health Allen has joined the program,” said Mary Beth Fisk, Director of the Texas Cord Blood Bank. “This will provide mothers in Collin County the option of saving lives when they give birth while enhancing TCBB’s ability to provide cord blood for life-saving transplants.”
The Texas Cord Blood Bank’s first collections began in June 2005. Texas Health Allen is the first hospital in Collin County and the second in North Texas to join the effort.
Cord Blood Collection Process
Physicians on the medical staff, nurses, and other Texas Health Allen employees have undergone training in preparation for collections that began in August 2010.
Women delivering at Texas Health Allen can opt to complete a brief screening questionnaire similar to one necessary when donating blood. For those who are eligible to donate, the process is simple. The patient’s physician will drain 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 if it is a match for a patient in need.
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