Families delivering babies at The Scarborough Hospital now have the opportunity to bank umbilical cord blood, providing a match for their child should they become ill and require a stem cell transplant later in life.

The Scarborough Hospital has partnered with Insception Cord Blood Program to provide education for expectant parents around the value of cord blood.

Today, cord blood is used in the treatment of over 75 life-threatening diseases, including a wide range of cancers, genetic diseases, immune system deficiencies, and blood disorders. The potential uses of umbilical cord blood are expanding rapidly to include such conditions as Type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy.

Children of mixed ethnicity and minority groups are under-represented in Canadian and international stem cell registries, meaning finding a match can be more difficult for those children in need.

To attend an information session about umbilical cord blood banking or to make arrangements to bank, please contact The Scarborough Hospital’s Family Maternity Centre at the Birchmount campus:  416.495.2531, General campus: 416.438.2911 ext 3230.

You can also download the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood for further information.