Nate was born in April 2010. He was diagnosed with Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome and needed to find a stem cell match through the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network. 

A match was found and Nate had his cord blood transplant on December 2, when he was just shy of eight months old.

Gabe was born into a family of firefighters and he too hopes to grow up and help others. Always a happy and energetic child, Gabe was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2010, a life-changing event not only for him, but also his family and community. 

Although he is in remission, Gabe’s condition is complicated by a genetic deformity that can cause a relapse at any time. 

If he does relapse, to survive he will need a stem cell transplant from someone of Aboriginal ancestry.

“When Lilli was born, no one asked us if we would donate her umbilical cord blood to save someone’s life. I now encourage every person to donate. You could save someone’s life down the road,” said Tri Tran, Father of baby Lilli.

Ethnic Canadians will benefit most from a national public umbilical cord blood bank

Like these children, Canadians of various ethnic backgrounds who need lifesaving stem cell transplants may soon find their agonizing wait for a donor getting shorter.

Canadian Blood Services is set to start building Canada’s first national public cord blood bank this September meaning Canadians of various ethnic backgrounds, including Aboriginal Canadians, will stand a greater chance of finding a match here at home rather than having to wait for international donors to be a match.

Currently in Canada, about 75 percent of all patients who need stem cell transplants must look outside their family for a match.

“Cord blood provides options for minority patients whose genetic markers are less common and who have difficulty finding a matching adult donor,” says Dr. Donna Wall, director of the Manitoba Blood and Marrow Transplant program.

 “If we are able to add to the worldwide cord blood database, we will increase the chances of Canadian patients finding a match and helping international patients increase their chances as well.”

Canadian Blood Services’ national public cord blood bank is part of the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, which is a national program that recruits healthy, unrelated, volunteer blood stem cell donors, conducts searches for patients who need an unrelated blood stem cell transplant and coordinates the collection and delivery of blood stem cells when a match is found.

Blood from the placenta and umbilical cord, which connects a baby to its mother in the womb, is a rich source of stem cells that can be used to regenerate certain cells and treat a variety of life-threatening illnesses including cancer.

Canadian Blood Services has launched a $12.5 million fundraising campaign to help build the bank while the provinces and territories, except Quebec, which operates its own public cord blood bank, have committed the balance of the $48 million project costs.

Starting this September, Canadian Blood Services will begin collecting donated cord blood from volunteering mothers at The Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, with more hospitals to follow in Vancouver, Brampton (GTA) and Edmonton as the program evolves.

The bank hopes to help the more than 1,000 Canadians currently waiting for lifesaving stem cell transplants as well as contribute to international cord blood bank registries.

As part of its OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, Canadian Blood Services will enter the data from all banked cord blood donations into a national database and make it available to all Canadians currently searching for an unrelated stem cell match. 

This same data will then be uploaded into an international database of more than 600,000 cord blood donations from 48 cord blood banks worldwide for the benefit of all patients in need of an unrelated donor. Due to our ethnic diversity in Canada, approximately 75 percent of Canadian patients requiring a stem cell transplant must look outside of their immediate families for a match.

Women who wish to donate their baby’s cord blood should speak with their health care provider, doctor, or midwife during their prenatal visits. They will then be provided with information about the national public cord blood bank and given a consent form, which can be brought to the hospital at the time of delivery.

More information about cord donations can be found by calling 1-888-2-DONATE or at www.campaignforcanadians.ca and www.blood.ca/cordblood. 

 

- www.newscanada.com