Michael & Millie's Baby-ViaCord

Griselda Paul Folgar is organizing this fundraiser.

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The Value of Cord Blood Banking

Dear Friends and Family,

As most of you know, Michael and Millie will be welcoming the newest addition to their family, a baby boy due April 7th. We are all very excited and anxious to meet him, and welcome him to this beautiful family of ours. While we approach this date, and try to get everything prepared and ready for his arrival, one of the things we decided would be a good thing is the storage of the blood from the umbilical cord. After much research, we have found what we feel is the best company to do this for us, which is through ViaCord, from PerkinElmer. (http://www.viacord.com) There are a number of reasons we have decided to do this, but first and foremost we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our new baby should he ever need it. I have taken some information on the benefits of storing cord blood, and listed it below to help you to better understand the benefits, and some of the reasons why we are doing this.

"Your baby's cord blood is a valuable source of non-controversial stem cells; the building blocks of our blood and immune systems. Cord blood stem cells, like bone marrow stem cells, are free of political and ethical debate. The value and benefits of stem cells found in umbilical cord blood are clear; cord blood collection saves lives today and medical researchers are exploring new uses for umbilical cord blood stem cells for tomorrow, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Storing your newborn's cord blood means that should there be a need, your baby will have a source of stem cells that is an exact match, with no risk of rejection. There is also a strong possibility that his/her siblings will be a match as well. This is important because clinical studies demonstrate that stem cell transplants are nearly twice as successful when the stem cells come from a family member rather than from a non-relative (e.g., a public bank)."

As you can see, not only can this blood be helpful to the new baby, should he ever need it, but there is also a chance that it can be used to help his sister, Ellie as well. As most of you know, our precious baby Ellie was born with a rare genetic condition called Dup15q syndrome and has faced some challenges as a result. While we know what the syndrome is, a duplication of part of the 15th chromosome, we do not have a clear picture on what the long term prognosis looks like. The spectrum is broad, and the possibilities are unlimited and with this in mind, there is a strong chance that at some point our new baby's cord blood could benefit Ellie as well. Nobody knows for certain if it will be needed, or how it may help at this point. What we do know is that science continues to amaze us with discoveries and advancements and there is a possibility that someday this cord blood could benefit Ellie or our new baby boy in ways that we can't even think of at this point. When considering all of the reasons why it may be beneficial to store the cord blood, and the ways that it could help it, is easy to see why we are doing it. With countless benefits, and endless possibilities the question quickly switches from "why should we do this?" to "why would we not do this?"

There is an old proverb that states that, "it takes a village to raise a child" and that village in this case is our loving friends and family who are part of Michael and Millie's lives. You can never overstate the importance of family, especially when it comes to the love and support they provide when times get tough. As grandparents, we want nothing more than to see our children and their families happy, healthy, and safe. We always do what we can to help, protect, or care for them in any way. This is why Tino and I have decided to set up the Cord Blood Bank for our newest grandson. We pray that we never have to use the cord blood, but knowing what we do now about the potential benefits, feel that it is best to have it available should it ever be needed for our new grandson or his big sister, Ellie. The total cost to set up the Cord Blood Bank is $2,000 with an annual storage fee of $125 that starts in year two. While Tino and I have decided to do this for our grandson, Michael and Millie suggested that we set something up that would allow other family members and friends to participate as well. At their suggestion, we have opened a cord blood gift registry that will allow the rest of the family and friends to participate and share in this unique opportunity. If you are interested in participating, you can click on the link below, and donate whatever you feel comfortable with.