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Today is Canada Day, the day where Canadians across the country celebrate the formation of Canada as a country back in 1867. Families around the country will be attending celebrations, festivals, concerts, and tributes to all things Canadian today.
But July 1 is also another day of importance for families not just in Canada, but around the world. July is Cord Blood Awareness Month and officially begins today.
Cord Blood Awareness Month is a global initiative to help more families recognize the potential benefits made available by banking their baby’s umbilical cord blood. Cord blood is a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), commonly called cord blood stem cells which have the potential to develop into other types of blood cells and immune cells.
In most countries around the world, people can choose family or public cord blood banking depending on what they decide is in their best interests. Until last fall, family banking was the only option available to Canadians but the national cord blood program was launched by Canadian Blood Services last fall.
One of the important elements of Cord Blood Awareness Month this year in Canada will be to highlight some of the differences between family and public cord blood banking. Many health centres and cord blood specialists will spend time throughout July using brochures, pamphlets, infographics, and other educational pieces to help Canadians learn more about cord blood.
The goal of cord blood banking is to provide an important option for therapy as well as instill peace of mind within the families that bank their baby’s cord blood. Cord Blood Awareness Month is an important part of the campaign to make the world more cord blood educated.