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July is Cord Blood Awareness Month in Canada, a month long campaign encouraging families to learn about the benefits of cord blood banking. In past years, the awareness campaign encouraged families to bank their own baby’s cord blood. But this year, things are a little different.
Canadian Blood Services launched Canada’s first national public cord blood banking program last fall. Until then, family cord blood banking was the only option available to Canadian families.
The Cord Blood Awareness Month campaign, in addition to informing families about cord blood banking for the first time, will promote both family and public cord blood banking. The campaign and its various educational pieces will help families decide which banking option is in their best interests.
To help stimulate the debate, some cord blood programs created educational infographics that explain the differences between family and public cord blood banking. Some of these differences include:
When to enroll in the cord blood program
A family’s eligibility to bank their baby’s cord blood
The costs for a household vs. the healthcare system
Who has access to the banked sample, and how the cord blood stem cells will be used
Who can benefit from cord blood banking
Family cord blood banks recognize the value of cord blood stem cells, and encourage families to learn more about how to benefit from banking programs. When Canadian Blood Services launched the national public program, increased cord blood education was one of the main goals cited by the organization – sharing the same values as family programs.
As a result, this year’s Cord Blood Awareness Month is meant to help families realize all their cord blood banking options. Get cord blood educated this July and add to your own family’s peace of mind.