Week 4 - Hospital/Birth Updates

Cord Blood Banking
We received some excellent news last week. There's a new trend in baby "insurance" called cord blood banking. It was an option that Andre and I were not even considering originally because we wanted to delay the cord clamping and have skin to skin time with Autumn as she adjusted to transitioning out into the world. With the changes and need for immediate intervention, we have started to consider different options.

Cord blood banking is the extraction of stem cells and tissue from the umbilical cord when the baby is born. It is still relatively new science and shows potential for great medical advances in the future. At the moment it seems to have been successfully used for a stem-cell transplant with diseases like leukemia and lymphoma with lots of potential for other treatments. Like most technology for future medical treatments, there is no guarantee that the stem cells will be able to be used for treatment. 

After researching a bit, we found that the cord blood has been used in some trial studies with another congenital heart disease - hypoplastic left heart syndrome. There are a few articles for potential studies with valve replacement with cord blood stem cells. Click here if you're interested in reading about them. The summary of this article says 

"In the future, babies with heart defects may receive new heart valves created from cells in the blood from their umbilical cords, saved at birth. These valves could grow and change shape as a child develops, avoiding the need for repeat surgeries to replace outgrown valves from animal or human donor tissue or artificial valves."

This could be a game changer for Autumn's treatments in her lifetime. She could eventually have a valve made from her own stem cells that would grow with her and continue to live without degrading. Because it's all uncertain science, Andre and I were evaluating and researching to see if it made sense to invest in something so expensive especially if there's only a potential that it will be able to be used for her. 

Fortunately, we did not have to make the decision to invest or not because our OB referred us to a Newborn Possibilities Program through Cord Blood Registry. They have a program specifically for children with serious medical conditions. The hope is that research in the next few years will help these children to use the stem cells in new medical procedures. With Tetrology of Fallot and the potential for valve construction - Autumn qualified for the program which means they will store her blood and tissue for 5 years for free. Great news for us and for Autumn's future treatments.

Here's our pack ready to go for the big day.