The very first national bank for umbilical cord started in Ottawa on Sept 30, 2013.

The National Public Cord Blood Bank is going to motivate people to donate umbilical cords instead of discarding them. Umbilical cords are proved to be an enriched source of stem cells which are desperately sought after. At least a thousand Canadians are presently in need of the transplant of these stem cells to survive. The transplant treats fatal diseases such as lymphoma and leukaemia.

According to the Canadian Blood Services, Canada was unfortunately the sole G8 country which did not have an umbilical cord blood bank on a national level so far. Establishing a national cord bank is the first step toward helping all those needful patients to have an opportunity to survive since many of them do not find a suitable match for transplant otherwise.

The Canadian Blood Services further informed that robust pregnant women who are at least 18 years old will be capable of donating umbilical cord once the cord bank becomes fully functional. Even though the cord bank is established in Ottawa, mothers who are willing to donate umbilical cords do not have to worry about going over to Ottawa for the donation. The collection hospitals will be available at Brampton, Ontario, Vancouver, Edmonton and, of course, Ottawa.

Even though similar cord banks already run in the country on a private level, a public bank such as this will popularise such donations, according to Dr Clifford Librach - the founder of CReATe Cord Blood Bank. The increased awareness will help patients to seek help from umbilical cord transfers as well. Those patients would be completely unaware of the possibility of such facilities otherwise, he said.

A free information session is going to be held on Saturday October 19, 2013; which will help people know more on Cord Blood Banking. The official Web site of CReATe (http://www.createcordbank.com/) can be reached for more information on this. One can also follow them on Twitter (@CReATeCordBlood).