LifeSouth Celebrates World Cord Blood Day on November 15
International observance raises awareness for the life-saving act of cord blood donation

Every day, mothers around the world make the choice to donate their umbilical cord blood to a cord blood bank after giving birth. LifeSouth Cord Blood Bank (part of LifeSouth Community Blood Centers) is working to raise awareness for this life-saving act in honor of World Cord Blood Day on November 15.

This year, mothers can celebrate the opportunity to publicly donate their cord blood. LifeSouth Cord Blood Bank, a public FDA-licensed cord blood bank of LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, partners with Baptist Medical Center East, Baptist Medical Center South and Jackson Hospital to offer public cord blood banking to all mothers delivering newborns at these hospitals. Donating cord blood is painless for mother and baby, and there is no charge for the life-saving service.

LifeSouth will mark World Cord Blood Day at Baptist Medical Center East, celebrating their nursing team. The event is Tues, November 15th from 10am-1pm and is open to the community and will include food and giveaways, as well as an opportunity to learn more about cord blood donation. The event will be held in the main entrance of the hospital atrium.

Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells. To date, more than 40,000 patients have received cord blood transplants since the procedure was first performed in 1988. Cord blood has surpassed bone marrow as a source for stem cells in transplants. Cord blood transplants can help treat more than 80 blood cancers, genetic diseases and immune system and metabolic disorders, including leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia.

“World Cord Blood Day gives us the opportunity to recognize our hospital partners and the mothers who have made the lifesaving decision to donate their newborn’s cord blood,” said Luis Hernandez, Director of Cellular Therapies, LifeSouth Cord Blood Bank. “We also hope to increase awareness and empower families to participate in this life-saving opportunity.”

Once a donation has been received and tested, it is securely stored by LifeSouth and added to the National Marrow Donor Program’s Be the Match® Registry. LifeSouth Community Blood Centers Cord Blood Bank is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT).

For more information about cord blood donation, visit lifesouth.org.