Has anyone ever been asked to donate their amniotic membrane?

[Jaybee]

I have just been onto the National Blood Donor website to check donor session times - as I am about to head off to donate and I spotted a 'Tissue Donation' area - where the majority 'tissue' is donated after death i.e. organs etc. there are a few things you can donate whilst living, one of which is the amniotic membrane. The quote from the site is
'Certain sight-saving operations rely on a rather unusual donated tissue - the amniotic membrane that surrounds a baby inside the womb. This tissue is obtained, with their consent, from mothers undergoing a planned caesarian section. A single membrane can help up to 60 patients.'
I just wondered whether anyone has ever been asked to donate.

I wonder exactly how they use it to save sight???

I'd never heard of that before now, they could have had mine if I'd had planned sections. I carry a card and am on the donor register and would give blood but the session times these days are not convenient for me to pick the kids up from school. (I have previously given 17 units and received 4).

Nobody ever asked me and I had 2 - in 1988 and 1993 - maybe they weren't doing it then.

Could have had mine with pleasure - no use to me!

Soupdragon, maybe they can reconnect blood vessels or nerve endings or aomething?

Just found this
"The combined use of amniotic membrane together with stem cell transplantation for severe chemical burns and Stevens Johnson Syndrome are dealt with in reports from Ivan Schwab and Rika Isseroff and from Gunther Grabner. It is hoped that these combined techniques will improve the management of severe ocular surface disorders"
and

"We have created a bioengineered composite ocular surface graft by successfully growing corneal epithelial stem cells (the mother cells that create new surface cells for the cornea) on amniotic membrane."

So, there you go.

Does anyone knoe how to donate blood from the umbilical cord?

Thanks, Soupdragon!

Of course I knew that all the time.

If anyone sees any more info about giving this membrane - please post here. I'm having an elective c-section in December and they can definitely have mine

Have a look at this site and discuss it with your midwife/GP/consultant.

This is so interesting. I had never heard of it before. At our hospital placentas used to be sold ( 50p each) to France for collagen to be extracted for treatment of burns victims. Unfortunately the mothers' permission was not sought so once that was highlighted it was decided to stop the practice because it raised all sorts of problems regarding permission. HIV was a problem as well. Now they are just incinerated. wonder why HIV doesn't present as a problem for eye surgery or if mothers need to be tested first. Not all areas have routine testing as yet.

Soupdragon - Thanks for posting the link - I didn't think to do that!! It looks as though, as I suspected, mums2B are not being approached re. this and it is probably up to the mum to do the approaching!! Why couldn't information on this be included in antenatal packs that you get from midwives/hospital?
This is similar re. getting on the list to be a bone marrow donor - are you aware that if you are a blood donor, all you need to do is ask to have a bit more blood taken when you donate - ask prior to donation for a form to complete!
Again, this does not seem to be advertised and I was not asked re. this (I was responding to a request to try and get a match for a child) and it was me that did the asking (plus passed the leaflets around to all those waiting - never one to miss an opportunity!!)