To think many women would be happy to donate umbilical cords and placentas?

[wotoodoo]

I have just read of MN handholding please - relapse from Dashing redhead and think that if mums to be were aware of how useful umbilical cords and placentas were for stem cell harvesting, then they would get many more donations.

With my third birth, the mw asked me if I'd donate my placenta and cord for a medical research project that was ongoing at the large teaching hospital I gave birth at, and I was glad to do so. I'd have done so for the previous two births if asked as well - I didn't want it, so if someone else wants it, they're welcome. And I'm a medical researcher, so appreciate all the patients who donate their time, body tissues, medical information etc to my projects.

And I was weirdly proud when, after I delivered the placenta, the MW said 'Wow! That's a lovely big healthy placenta - it's the biggest I've collected for this project.'

It costs a lot of money to collect and a whole lot more to store for however many years. Tissue banking is expensive.

Another one who would have happily donated but the hospital didn't offer it

When I had DS1 in 2003 it was an option here, which I did donate. It wasn't an option when I had ds2 in 2005 which is a shame.

The problem is, you can't do delayed cord clamping and donate cord blood. I would have happily donated my placenta after my baby had had the blood she needed, but the dregs that are left aren't enough to make it worthwhile apparently.

As more and more NHS hospitals are going to DCC as the default instead of clamping straightaway, you are asking woman to choose between their baby getting the best possible outcome by letting them receive all the blood they are meant to receive, or giving it away, possibly to help a stranger, possibly to be used for research, possibly to be wasted.

I will always choose my child over abstract strangers, so I would not donate.

I tried. We were told it wasn't available so we were prepared to pay for a private organisation to come and do it at the hospital but it would have needed co operation from the MW and the hospital said that as they wouldn't know which midwife would delver my baby they couldn't say f that midwife would agree to cooperate or not. We took the instructions in with us when I was in labour and DH showed the MW who said she would. Have to " see how it went" and then later when DS had been born she said she had forgotten to do it and it was too late!!

You can do delayed cord clamping and donate cord blood with Anthony Nolan.
My hospital does delayed cord clamping as standard.
There is an FAQ section on their website.

Maybe we should start a government petition to have it as an nhs option to support stem cell etc research

My options for my last birth (HB) were:

(1) clinical waste bag
(2) take it ourselves to do something with
(3) spend hundreds of pounds to arrange to have it couriered to London for harvesting of some kind.

I went for (1) and in the end it was fairly degraded/dead so probably couldn't have been of use. I really think it's an untapped resource though!

I don't even know any thing about this, but after my babies was born the placenta and cord is no use to me so take it if it could help to save lives.

It's not just London hospitals, I donated at my local hospital when I had DD last year. They are very proud (rightly so) that they are one of the very few non London ones that do it. My DD then got a lovely babygrow and certificate a few weeks later saying she was a lifesaver.