Dan Berger was a prominent Pittsburgh attorney, citizen, and humanitarian who was diagnosed with cancer. After many years of treatment and remission, Dan received a successful stem cell transplant to cure him of both the lymphoma and the leukemia that ensued. In July of 2006, Dan’s heart failed. It was in the course of his treatment that Dan and his wife, Carol, recognized the lifesaving impact of stem cells, and in particular, umbilical cord blood, which is rich in stem cells. The Berger family approached Magee-Womens Foundation to encourage a systematic collection of umbilical cord blood. With much hard work and dedication, Magee publicly unveiled The Dan Berger Cord Blood Program in October 2007.
Cord blood stem cells have been used to treat more than 40 diseases, including many cancers, and account for more than 8,000 transplants worldwide and offers hope to many families, like the Berger family.
So I had all my paperwork filled out, in my bag, ready to go when we went to the hospital. I told the nurses when we got there that this was something we wanted to do and they said OK. Except after an unsuccessful first try at delivering, we had to do an emergency c-section. So I was unaware after they stitched me back up that my cord blood wasn't donated. It was OK though because all that mattered to me was that my baby was healthy - and she is!
Funny thing is that we received a packet in the mail from the cord blood program thanking us for our donation and inside we found a cute little t-shirt. My husband decided to make it work for our situation.
Maybe with the next baby we will get to successfully donate. If you have had a child, did you donate? If you are planning on becoming a parent, is this something you have even thought about?
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