Ms Izyani and Mr Mohd Nazri decided to donate in their first pregnancy after reading up on the benefits of cord blood donation from brochures and newspaper cuttings provided by Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB).
- Cord blood donation is medically safe
- It can be used to treat blood-related diseases such as leukaemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders
Ms Izyani and Mr Mohd Nazri decided to donate in their first pregnancy after reading up on the benefits of cord blood donation from brochures and newspaper cuttings provided by Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB). They were amazed to learn how cord blood has the ability to cure blood cancers and other blood disorders and conditions. After this discovery, cord blood donation was an easy decision and they were convinced it was the right thing to do.
“I am so glad that SCBB took the time to explain the process and benefits of cord blood donation. After hearing and reading the details, I wanted to donate my baby’s cord blood. If it can help someone one day, it is the least we can do,” said Ms Izyani.
After their first cord blood donation, she and Mr Nazri decided that they would continue to donate cord blood if they were to have more babies. Since then, the couple have had three more babies with their cord blood donated to SCBB.
Ms Izyani initially considered a home delivery for their fourth child. “I was contemplating having a home birth for my fourth child. The major factor that changed this for us was the regret of not being able to donate our baby’s cord blood”, she explained.
SCBB has stringent guidelines and processes for collecting cord blood and is unable to accept any cord blood not collected within these strict guidelines and processes. Home birth, collection after the delivery of the baby and/or the collection of the umbilical cord blood falls outside of these guidelines and cannot be accepted for donation. This is to ensure the proper techniques are used in the extraction and preservation of the cord blood so that sterility is maintained and therefore will be fit for later use by a patient.
Ms Izyani feels very privileged and honored to be a four-time donor. She will be encouraging her family and friends to donate their baby’s cord blood: “If doing such a small thing may make a huge difference in someone else’s life, why wouldn’t you want to donate your cord blood? It is easy and painless with the end result being your cord blood donation may be priceless to a family in need.
This article is extracted from the Cord Connection Newsletter, Singapore Cord Blood Bank.
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Your Child's First Gift - Singapore Cord Blood Bank
https://youtu.be/0-DoX4pxAq8
Cord blood can be your child’s first gift to others. What an important gift it is!
Cord blood, collected after the safe delivery of your baby, is rich in stem cells and can cure many blood-related diseases. Many patients are searching for a suitable stem cell match for a life-saving transplant. Make cord blood donation your child's first gift to patients in need!
Make an informed choice. Find out more about cord blood donation from the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB), the nation's only public cord blood bank: http://www.scbb.com.sg
Produced for the Singapore Cord Blood Bank by the Tomorrow’s Medicine video unit.
