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DURHAM — To donate the stem cell-rich umbilical cord blood produced during the birth of her daughter, Jaime Feaster of Lake Charles, La., would have had to drive more than two hours to the nearest hospital equipped to collect it.
That’s a long way to go when you’re in labor.
Instead, Feaster turned to a fledgling Duke University Medical Center program that provides collection kits to mothers and their doctors. When Feaster’s daughter, Kadee, arrived last month, the cord blood was collected, packaged and quickly shipped to a blood bank at no cost to Feaster and with minimal commitment of time and expertise from her doctor.
Duke doctor Joanne Kurtzberg wants to replicate Feaster’s experience on a large scale.
Kurtzberg hopes that an easier donation process will trigger a surge in donations of blood cells so valuable they’ve been used to reverse and even cure otherwise fatal disorders. The current cord blood supply can’t keep up with the demand for its use in treating leukemia, sickle cell disease and other blood disorders, and the nation’s hospital infrastructure isn’t set up to tap even a fraction of the potential donors.
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