Cord Blood: Ottawa mother raising awareness on importance of donating umbilical cord blood [Video]

An Ottawa mother is raising awareness on the benefits of donating her baby’s umbilical cord blood to the Canadian Blood Services after she was born in May.

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“Knowing that my baby is doing a good deed on their first day of life could only set her up for a great future,” said new mother Chanele Cyr-Depauw.

It’s a decision Cyr-Depauw and her husband made before baby Ayla was born. 

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after the birth of a baby.

The cord blood is rich in stem cells and is used to treat more than 80 diseases and disorders including cancer, blood disease and immune system disorders. Currently, there are more than 1,000 patients across Canada waiting for a stem cell transplant. If the cord is not …