HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER OFFERS HOSPITAL-BASED FAMILY CORD BLOOD COLLECTION AND STORAGE SERVICES

New parents at The Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) now have a choice that could someday save their newborn’s life.

Parents can opt to bank stem cells collected from their infant’s umbilical cord after delivery through the medical center’s new family cord blood collection and storage service. These stem cells could potentially be life-saving if the child ever needed a stem cell transplant for a blood cancer, such as leukemia or lymphoma, or a genetic disease, such as sickle-cell anemia or thalassemia. The stem cells might also prove a match for a sibling, parent, or grandparent.

HUMC is the first in the nation to contract with DomaniCell, LLC, a leading provider in the field of stem cell collection and storage. The medical center has partnered with DomaniCell to develop its own cord blood stem cell banking program based on DomaniCell’s infrastructure and technology.

“Cord blood banking is a tremendous opportunity for parents at HUMC to choose to store stem cells that normally would be discarded with baby’s umbilical cord, but could someday save his or her life,” says Manuel Alvarez, M.D., chairman of The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital at HUMC. “Parents who choose to bank their child’s cord stem cells with our program can be assured of the same high-quality service we provide for all our medical care here. The program is a valuable addition to our comprehensive childbirth services.”

By adding this new medical center-based cord blood banking service, HUMC furthers the innovative healthcare and research it provides through its state-of-the-art medical and surgical services, including The Cancer Center and The Tomorrows Children’s Institute for Cancer and Blood Disorders, which each year perform as many as 250 bone marrow/peripheral blood stem cell transplantations for adults and children.

“Because we have these life-saving transplants performed here, we are well aware of the potential for what cord blood stem cells can do,” adds Dr. Alvarez. “A child’s cord blood will only be used for his/her own family’s purposes. It can be very reassuring for parents to know the potential for a cure exists, if it’s ever needed. Cord blood cells are a perfect match for the baby and have up to a 75-percent chance of being a match for the baby’s siblings.”

Umbilical cord blood is the blood remaining in a baby’s umbilical cord following birth. Cord blood is rich in stem cells, the building blocks of the blood and immune systems. Stem cells found in umbilical cord blood can divide and become different types of cells in the body. Cord blood stem cells are being used to successfully treat more than 40 different cancers, immune deficiencies, and genetic disorders in adults and children. These stem cells do not carry the same ethical problems as do stem cells derived from embryos. In fact, earlier this year, the New Jersey Catholic Conference promoted the donation of umbilical cord blood.

Parents who are interested in having their newborn’s cord blood collected and stored with the medical center’s program simply inform their obstetrician before the birth. They complete enrollment paperwork and make payment for the service or arrange for financing. The cord blood collection kit is waiting for them when they arrive for the birth of the baby.

At birth the cord blood is collected easily and painlessly. The process does not interfere with the delivery or care of the newborn or mother. After the baby is born, but before the placenta is delivered, the obstetrician or midwife clamps the cord and drains the cord blood from the umbilical cord. The collection takes about two to four minutes. Three tubes of blood are then drawn from the mother that will be used for diagnostic testing required by law. The cord blood is then cryopreserved in case it is ever needed.

“It’s a simple procedure that could have lifetime benefits for the baby or family members,” concludes Dr. Alvarez.

The new cord blood banking service is a component of the comprehensive childbirth services offered by HUMC and its newly opened Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion. The Pavilion contains The Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital and the state-designated Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. Notable women’s and children’s services include a regional perinatal center and maternal-fetal medicine program, genetic counseling, an antenatal diagnostic unit, level III neonatal intensive care unit, brand-new childbirth suites and private post-partum suites, reproductive medicine and infertility services, a pediatric intensive care unit, a child-friendly pediatrics unit, parenting and childbirth classes, and gynecology care.

For more information about the cord blood banking program, call 201-883-5308. For more information about childbirth services at Hackensack University Medical Center, visit www.humc.com.