"Our son is 1/2 Korean and 1/2 European. We have heard that children from mixed backgrounds have a difficult time finding appropriate donors. If our son needed a match for cord blood we would be crushed if we couldn't find one."
"We wanted to help other people. Initially we wanted to bank our own blood for our family, but decided to donate the blood so hopefully it can help someone else."
"To help someone in need and if I needed help I would hope someone would donate for me too."
"No second thoughts - Especially when it's simple, easy, and convenient to do. Happy to help someone else at any time!"
"I am on the bone marrow registry but don't weigh enough to donate blood so this is just another way to save a life."
"My mother had breast cancer and died from it. I want to help research in any way I can."
"I would appreciate my own child being saved - it's the right thing to do."
"To help anyone who could make use of it. My baby and I no longer found the cord useful, maybe someone else could."
"It's a completely safe and painless way to help save lives."
"It's always good to help medical technology improve."
"I am a regular blood donor so I was already comfortable with that process, donating cord blood seemed very easy to do."
"Would like to do my part in serving my community!"
Would you recommend Hawai'i Cord Blood Bank to others based on your experience? Why or why not?
"Yes! It's easy, simple, safe, and free!"
"Definitely! It's such a great program with no drawbacks, only positive outcomes. The program's employees were so great, informative, and friendly."
"Yes, because its easy to sign papers and helping others is the best feeling in the world."
"Yes, it's simple. It could possibly help make a huge difference in someone's life!"
"Yes, everyone I came into contact with was very helpful and pleasant."
"Absolutely. To hear the news that it made it to Puget Sounds and a possible match could be made is priceless."
"Yes, I think it's a very good cause. Life is precious and definitely worth saving."
"Yes. Although I was unable to donate cord blood, people should consider the positive impact donating has. Again... why not?"
"Yes, once paperwork is complete, we don't have to worry about the collection. Everything is taken care of. Mahalo for your work."
"Yes, we feel this is a worthwhile cause. We're disappointed our baby's cord blood was discarded, but will be calling to follow-up and inquire about the reason for this. Also, the educational info about cord blood banking was very helpful in making our decision."
"Yes. I think it's a great cause & it's not difficult to donate. I would donate again if I were to get pregnant again & would recommend to friends who are pregnant as well."
"Yes. The communication was very appreciative & I feel like it is a good cause."
"Yes - why not?! If there's a chance to help others in need (w/o any expense to the giver), why not!?"
"Yes. It is free and otherwise the blood is discarded with the placenta and cord."
"Yes. No inconveniences except for a little extra paperwork but totally worth it if it could have helped someone else."
"Yes! It's AMAZING to think your baby's cord could save lives!"
"Yes! It wasn't painful and you're helping with research or saving lives. I would do it again in a heartbeat."
"Staff is helpful and really makes you feel appreciated."
"Yes. It's a relatively small sacrifice on your part for the greater good."
"There are so many families out there that could be a match. It felt great to donate a possible gift of life."
"Yes, even though in my case the doctor and nurse couldn't retrieve enough blood. But because of my willingness to donate, it allowed for monetary funds to support this cause."
"Yes, I believe that HCBB is a savior to many people out there."
"Yes. We think that the purpose of HCBB is noble and life-saving."
"Yes. It was easy and I think it's great. I wish more people would do it."
Is there anything we could do to make the process easier for you?
"Why can't I submit the paperwork online?"
Unfortunately, at this time due to our current consenting process, we are unable to provide that service.
We thank you for your suggestions and will continue to look into other possibilities in the future.
"My unit was banked and though I filled out paperwork ahead of time, someone still contacted me post-delivery, why is this necessary?"
Initially, either through prescreens or through admit screens (which are available in delivery), we process donors using a short screening form.
However, if your unit is selected to be banked and stored in anticipation of a future transplantation, a longer medical and social history screening form must be completed (within 7 days of your delivery) as the units would be going to patients with very serious illnesses.
We have elected to not give every donor, prior to delivery, this longer screening form as approximately 30% of collected units are selected to be banked.
The longer screening form is available upon request prior to delivery - but please note that we may still have to contact you after its submission if there are any questions that need clarification.
"Why do you call us while we're still in the hospital?"
As explained in the question above, we have 7 days from your delivery date to fill out a longer medical and social history screening form which is required in order to bank and store your unit for future transplantation. Since the only contact information we have of yours is that on the "short screening form," we tend to miss mommies when they go home and have no way of contacting you if your information is missing or incomplete. If we cannot contact you, your unit will be discarded. We like to catch you in the hospital to either fill out this form which is available at post-partum or on the phone with us so that we do not have to bother you at home while you are taking care of your newborn.
Again, we apologize for the inconvenience.
"I received a letter stating that my baby's cord blood could not either be collected or banked, but it doesn't say why they discarded my unit. How come?"
Due to privacy reasons, if ever your mail was stolen or we had the wrong address, we do not release that information in letter format.
There are various reasons that your baby's cord blood unit has been discarded. A majority of our collected units were discarded due to their small volume or low cell count. If a unit is not suitable for banking, it can also be used for quality control purposes, used to improve methods for processing cord blood, or used for other research. If your baby's cord blood is used for research, it will not be labeled in any way that would allow researchers to identify you or your baby.
Feel free to call our office at (808) 983-2265 for further questions regarding your unit.
"Do you charge money for this?"
As the only public cord blood bank in the state of Hawai'i, we do not charge money for the donation of your baby's cord blood. On our website at the Director's Message - you may read this information on the third paragraph from the bottom.
"What is the timeline for turning the paperwork in?"
If you wish to fill out the paperwork before your delivery and become a "prescreened donor," you can either sign up with 1) Maternity Tours & Classes 2) Your OB/GYN 3) By calling us at 983-2265. Typically, we do not send you a packet until you have passed 6 months of pregnancy and you have up until the time you deliver to fill out the paperwork. We say, the earlier you mail it back the better, but please know that you are always able to bring the paperwork with you into the hospital at the time of delivery to prevent you from signing the consents twice.
As always, you also have the option of printing the paperwork off our website and mailing that in.
Typically, we also do not mail your approved or deferred letter until one month before your estimated delivery.
"Why did they have to draw my blood?"
If your baby's cord blood unit met/exceeded our 120 grams weight critera and is being sent out to our partner Puget Sound Blood Center for processing, a nurse or lab tech will come in to draw your blood. This is necessary for two reasons: 1) we test your own blood for any infectious diseases and 2) we archive your blood as your medical history might change down the road and we do not want to contact you years later for another blood sample. Typically, this blood is drawn after birth to ensure that these maternal samples will be shipped together with the baby's cord blood unit. Further discussion about this process can be found on the second page of your consent form.
"How much of all collected cord blood is banked and why is it that not all cord blood is banked?"
Approximately 25-30% of all collected units are banked.
You may read more about it here on our recent newsletter.
There are several reasons that a cord blood donation could not be banked:
1) The mother's consent is either not signed/name is not printed correctly
2) The date of signature on the mother's consent is incorrect (usually the wrong year)
3) The mother's date of birth on the mother's consent is incorrect (the most common mistake is that mothers write the date of signature as their date of birth)
4) There was not enough blood left in the cord to be collected to meet our minimum weight requirement of 120 grams (which is okay, because we want baby to take up all the nutrients he or she can first!)
As we currently do not have a processing lab here, Hawai'i Cord Blood Bank partnered with Puget Sound Blood Center in Seattle, Washington to bank, store, and transplant units.
This could potentially affect our cord blood units because cell count and viability might drop during the long flight to WA and thus not meet the cell count requirement set by transplantation standards.
This is the reason for most of our cord blood unit discards.
However, please do not be discouraged. It is a constant process that we are working on to improve and the more donors we screen, the more potential units we can bank and transplant.
In addition, sometimes units that are discarded may actually be sent to a research study that is currently going on which would assess and identify solutions to boost our cell count and viability in preparation for the unit's transportation to WA.
If you have signed and filled out the forms properly, our non-profit foundation can turn it in for monetary credit which continues to help keep our mission of giving the gift of life a second time alive.
*Updated as of January 16th, 2012.
