donating the gift of life

I'm talking about donating umbilical cord blood.


Most people know that when you have a baby you have the ability to store your baby's cord blood in a private bank. You do this so that if your child gets sick you can access the cord blood in hopes that the blood would help save your child's life (god forbid). Storing your childs cord blood is not cheap, however. There is an initial enrollment fee, then a yearly storage fee. I heard from a source or two that the enrollment fee alone is thousands of dollars. The yearly fee is more reasonable (from what I understand), costing something like a few hundred each year - but obviously I don't know exact prices.

Something that I believe is more recent and growing in popularity, is public umbilical cord blood banks. This option is totally free, but the blood is not being stored for you. Essentially you are donating it in hopes that your childs cord blood will help save another childs life. If it turns out that your child needs his/her own cord blood, and if on the off chance the bank still has it, you have the ability to use it for yourself (whether it's free or not is unclear to me). If the bank no longer has your child's cord blood they will help you find the closest matching unit (again, whether it's free or not is unknown to me, but i'm assuming it is not free).


When we got pregnant with Trent we had every intention of donating his cord blood. The way we looked at it was: Why Not? Well, unfortunately, we didn't know there was a registration process that was to be done mid-way (ish) through the pregnancy. We were literally in the delivery room - I was being stitched up - the placenta, etc was sitting in a bowl on a table next to the doctor - and we said "we'd like to donate that". The nurse then asked if we went thru the proper procedure for doing so - to which we responded with, "there's a procedure?". The nurse then informed us that all that good stuff would have to be thrown away. Tossed in the trash!!! I was so disappointed! We had the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life, but there is sat, in all it's glory, just waiting to be thrown away.


This time around we staying on top of my placenta (so to speak) and all of it's associated parts. Today I am going to pre-register with The Brady Kohn Foundation - a local cord bank that offers public and private banking- and I am very excited about it. Their motto is "Give life. Twice".


Another option I have concerning my afterbirth is to bring it all home with me, cook it, and eat it. Had you talked to me about this a year ago I would have thrown up in your face. I have since learned more about the benefits and reasons why people do this. I learned, most specifically, about capsulising the placenta - I won't get too detailed, but basically you cook it, grind it up, then fill little capsules with the it. You then take however many capsules you'd like every day - just like you would do with a vitamin. This is the easiest way for most women to eat it....understandably. You can only imagine what it would taste like if you sat down with your placenta on your plate and you tried to go at it like it was a steak. Maybe throw a little A1 on the side of your plate.

Anyway, back to the benefits of eating your placenta: it's full of nutrients that help mom recover from childbirth and stay healthy. It's also said to help with milk production.

Would I ever actually do this? Heck no. It's not for me. I'd much rather donate my goods. But I will no longer judge those people who decide to eat it. Yes, it makes me a cringe a little just typing the words "eat" and "placenta" in the same sentence, but once you break it all down and understand the reasons behind it, it's really not as barbaric as one might think. It's actually very beneficial and healthy (if handled properly). Who am I to judge?

As I mentioned above, I am going to pre-register today. In a few days/weeks I will receive a health questionnaire to fill out and mail back. Once they review it they will send me a kit. I will have to remember to take this kit with me to the hospital when I go into labor. The nurses will handle it from there.

~if you will be delivering at St. Francis or Christiana Hospital, please look into this, and if it seems like something you could get on board with, spread the word! If you are delivering someplace else, look into the local resources you have. The Brady Kohn website has a link that should help. click here.

Please share any stories, experiences, or thoughts you may have on this topic. I am just starting to learn about this entire procedure so I would love to hear what you have to say.