Myth #1:
My delivery experience will be affected if I donate cord blood.

Fact: Cord blood is collected after the delivery of the baby and before delivery of placenta. The umbilical cord blood is collected from the umbilicus vein of the section of the cord that remains attached to the placenta, after the cord is clamped and cut.

The procedure is completely painless, takes only a few minutes and is done only after the baby has been safely delivered.

Myth #2:
Stem cells are precious and it should be kept only for the family.

Fact: The vast majority of the 40,000 cord blood transplants performed around the world used donated cord blood from public cord blood banks. The probability of needing to use cord blood stored for personal use is lower.

Most transplant physicians may not feel that the patient's own cord blood is the best choice, as it may already carry the genetic abnormality that led to the blood or immune system failure or cancer in the first place.

Myth #3:
Blood samples from the mother will result in anaemia due to blood loss after baby's birth.

Fact: The collection of maternal blood sample is done before delivery, when the mother is admitted to the Labour Ward / Delivery Suite. These blood samples are absolutely critical to ensure the safety of the donated cord blood, which could in future be used to save a life.

About 30ml of blood (about 3 soup spoons) is collected from the mother. This is less than 1 per cent of the blood volume and has not led to any reported case of anaemia in mothers.

To find out more, contact the Singapore Cord Blood Bank at Tel: 6394-5011 or email: info@scbb.com.sg

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