“Cord blood is something that’s already there for the taking,” says Angela Hayes. “Why wouldn’t I donate it?”
Angela, an Ohio mother of five, knew only a little about umbilical cord blood donation when she was pregnant for the first time nine years ago. “My doctor brought it up,” she says. “My husband and I passed on private storage, but public cord blood donation wasn’t widely available then.”
By the time her fourth child was on its way, that had changed in her area. Angela talked with her obstetrician, who fully supported her decision to donate her baby’s cord blood to a public cord blood bank.
At the hospital, Angela recalls that the focus was entirely on her and her baby. “After delivery, I remember holding my son while the doctor collected the cord blood. It was during that quiet time right after they hand you your new baby. My husband and I had this time of joy, and the doctor and nurses just did what they needed to do. It didn’t have any impact on our birth experience.”
Angela says more awareness and discussion about donating cord blood is important. “Several of my girlfriends are having children and I tell them, ‘I did it. It’s easy.’ It takes so little effort, but it can mean the world to someone else.”
The day you give birth, you can also give hope to a patient in need.
Learn if You Can Donate your baby’s cord blood.