Arizona Public Cord Blood Program

 Tucson Medical Center is the latest hospital in the state (and the only hospital in Southern Arizona) to collect donated umbilical cord blood in partnership with the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program. As you may know, umbilical cord blood is a precious resource to a patient in need of a life-saving stem cell transplant. Umbilical cord blood is rich in blood-forming stem cells, which can renew themselves and grow into mature blood cells. It’s been proven to cure and treat as many as 80 diseases, and can be used for transplantation for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening blood diseases. If the donated blood from a TMC baby meets a certain set of criteria, it will be included on the national registry where there is a significant shortage of blood from Hispanic, Black, mixed ethnicity and Native Americans. The demographic we serve, and the number of babies we deliver each year has the potential to make a significant positive impact on the national registry, essentially giving more people a better chance at finding a match.
An expectant mother has three options about what to do with her baby’s cord blood.  She can privately bank it, (paid for by the parents), she can publically donate it (free of charge), or she can choose to do nothing, and the blood will be discarded as medical waste. The Arizona Public Cord Blood Program is part of the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission, and is working with the University of Colorado/ClinImmune Labs to collect, process and store this life saving medical resource. The Save the Cord Foundation is proud to be the voice for cord blood education and awareness and partner for the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program. In the few years this program has existed at 3 Phoenix hospitals, 17 cords have been selected for transplant, which means 17 lives were saved because of this program.
For additional information about this topic please visit our link below:

http://tmcforwomen.com/2014/10/19/so-youre-ready-to-donate-your-newborns-cord-blood-at-tmc-now-what/