kate's story

I lost my second child to leukemia. Joshua was only 14 months old when he was diagnosed with a rare leukemia and chemotherapy wasn't an option. His only chance of survival was to have a stem cell transplant. A world wide medical search for a compatible donor was initiated but, because Joshie also had a rare tissue type, we were unable to find a donor in time. My son died 2 days before Christmas 1999, aged just 22 months.

Watching your precious baby go through this terrible disease is something no parent would ever want to experience. You just never get over it.

I am now five months pregnant and naturally I have been extremely anxious throughout the entire pregnancy. I recently spoke to my obstetrician about the possibility of collecting and storing this baby's cord blood as a precaution and to give me some peace of mind in the unlikely case, god forbid, that something similar could happen to our family in the future.

Who knows where medical science is going in the future but I do know that I will be 41 years old when this baby is born and I won't get another opportunity to be able to store my baby's cord blood again. To me it is like taking out an insurance policy. It may never be needed but it will give me peace of mind and if by chance it can be used in the future to save one of my family, I will have it available.

We now know that Cord Blood is a valuable source of blood stem cells, which have the ability to treat the same diseases as bone marrow including leukaemia. It shouldn't be discarded as medical waste. At each and every birth, Cord Blood should be collected and the parents given the option of either donating their baby's cord blood to the public bank or storing it privately themselves.

Cord Blood is a readily available source of potentially life saving stem cells. No parent should ever have to experience what we have been through. Collect your baby's cord blood.