My story begins when I was diagnosed at 1 year old with Fanconi's Anemia, a rare fatal blood disorder. Without a matching donor for a bone marrow transplant, I would likely be dead before my 10th birthday. However, my parents would not accept this fate for me, and conceived two children, in the hopes that the bone marrow of a sibling would be a suitable match. On their second try they conceived my younger sister Emily, she was a perfect match and my hope for survival. About six months into the pregnancy mom went into pre-term labor. The fate of my future and Emily's was in grave danger, doctors placed her on strict bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy. With fear of loosing both of her children she didn't realize it at the time but this was a blessing in disguise. Determined to be as prepared as possible mom spent most of her time on bed rest educating herself about my disease, what to expect as a new mom, and most importantly what events took place in the delivery room. After reading about umbilical cords, she was left asking ,"what do they do with the cord after they clamp it?" She immediately contacted my doctors to find out if the blood found inside the umbilical cord could help treat my disease? The doctors response was " who told you about this?" At the time,this procedure had never been performed before. Once they were in agreement that saving Emily's cord blood to use for my transplant may in fact be better than Emily's bone marrow, my parents and doctors began making preparations to save Emily's cord blood at the time of her birth. Emily was born through a scheduled c-section, doctors from all around the US came to witness what would soon save my life and change the medical field forever. Emily's cord blood was the first to be collected and made medical history! Not only was he transplant was a HUGE success, but it has helped to pave the way for thousands and thousands of cord blood transplants. While you are pregnant it is VERY important that you educate yourself about all of the important decisions you will need to make. Saving cord blood is a ONCE in a lifetime opportunity, but can give you peace of mind FOREVER! To learn more about the benefits of cord blood, please visit http://www.nataliecurry.com

                                     

 We develop them when we are a baby, we loose them in elementary school, and if we are lucky they grow back healthy, strong and straight! Our teeth provide us with the amazing ability to chew our food while they add a smile to our faces. For children loosing teeth usually turns into lasting memories. However reccently loosing teeth has turned into much, much more.......

• Did you learn about the option of cord blood banking after you child was already born, so it was too late to save it?
• Are you looking for a cheaper way to save stem cells for your family?

If so, I have some very exciting news for you! Reccent research has shown that baby teeth are filled with life saving stem cells. To preserve the stem cells found inside the baby teeth they must be stored at a private stem cell lab.  Although scientist have not treated anyone with these stem cells yet, I think it is safe to say that stem cells are the future of medicine and it is only a matter of time before they do. So instead of leaving the teeth for the tooth fairy make an investment that might someday save your childs life!

Together We CAN Help Save Lives,

Natalie Curry

 

 

                                        

Today I received a reader request. A parent wrote to me requesting information about Cerebral Palsy and the breakthroughs involving cord blood. After reading the extremely touching story about her son and his struggles with CP, I felt compelled to address the issue. 

According to the center for disease control and prevention, approx 10,000 babies per year in the US will develop cerebral palsy (CP). Cerebral Palsy is a very debilitating disease that affects the brains ability to control the body.  CP has many symptoms; weak muscles, inability to walk, uncontrollable movement and jerking among many others.

Victims of CP are often confined to a wheel chair, or form of walking assistance. Until recently there was NO cure for CP, only treatments to improve the condition. 

HUGE BREAKTHROUGH:

In 2008 scientist at Duke University made an astonishing discovery. They began using the stem cells found inside a babies umbilical cord blood to treat CP. In an experimental procedure they infused CP patients with stem cells in hopes of repairing the brain damage.  Patients had incredible results and started showing signs of improvement just days after the procedure. To learn about how cord blood helped CP patient, three year old Chole Levine visit: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,573265,00.html

Everyday scientist are learning more and more about the life saving value of stem cells. The number of medical conditions treatable/curable with stem cells is increasing rapidly! The future of medicine is HERE: CORD BLOOD, is and will continue to save lives.

Cord blood banking is an investment worth making! You never know what could happen, but saving the cord can give you a priceless gift,  peace of mind!

Together We Can Help Save Lives,

Natalie Curry

                                                

 

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better".
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

For those of you who have already had children and didn't save your babies cord blood, or for those of you who aren't ready or can't have children, I have found the perfect alternative to cord blood preservation.   I just discovered an exciting new product called C'elle. C'elle is providing women with an easy effective way to donate stem cells and help save lives!

With C'elle's collection kit women can begin saving their menstral blood monthly. The  kit includes easy-to-follow instructions and everything required for the non-invasive collection and transport of the specimen to C'elle's state-of-the-art laboratory for processing, isolation and stem cell preservation.

This exciting new technology is expanding the world of stem cell preservation. Now more and more people will be able to contribute to the amazing life saving benefits found inside stem cells. Like the stem cells found inside a babies umbilical cord the menstrual blood stem cells are very powerful and can help treat many diseases.

Just like cord blood, the stem cells found inside menstrual blood are discarded. You can change this! Everyday scientist's  are learning more about stem cells and their seemingly endless power. This is YOUR opportunity to help!

To learn more about how to become a part of C'elle's revolution visit: http://www.celle.com

Together We CAN Help Save Lives,

Natalie Curry

                                                             

 

 Most young girls spend there entire lives fantasizing about there future. They dream about there wedding day, building a clean, safe home and most of all ,they dream about starting a family. I know this was true of my friends and I growing up.

Sadly some of the things we wish for most, don’t always go as planned. It estimated that 6.1 million woman in the US suffer from some form of infertility. For these woman the chance of having children seems impossible, and often times there dreams are crushed. I am not currently ready to have any children, but I can relate to these issues because it is very likely that I will suffer from fertility issues due to my radiation treatment for my cord blood transplant.

 

Over the years scientist have found numerous treatments for infertility. …….BUT, I HAVE SOME VERY EXCITING NEWS!!!

Scientist recently discovered that by injecting stem cells into infertile ovaries that they can grow fresh eggs. This new procedure will provide women with a new hope that was once lost.

 

Candidates For New Stem Cell Procedure:

- Women who suffer from infertility

- Women who have received damaging cancer treatment, such as radiation

- Women approaching menopause who wish to delay it.

-Women who want to have children later in life.

This is not a cure for infertility, but a milestone that will likely lead to a cure in the future. For those of you who are struggling with these issues, please don’t give up!

Together We CAN Help Save Lives To learn more about the benefits of Stem Cells please visit my web site: http://www.nataliecurry.com

Natalie Curry

 You just found out that you are pregnant, and your wondering: what to do now. You are overwhelmed with excitment and fear all at the same time, you want to make sure and give your child everything it needs and more. These emotions start well  before your baby is even born. You might start by picking out paint colors for the nursery, and picking out names, but there is one important decision you might completely overlook. This decision is weather or not to bank your babies cord blood. Many expecting parents tend to forget about this option all together, or they just don't understand how to go about making it happen.

 To avoid confusion at an already hectic time I'm going give you THREE easy steps you can take to get the process started.

1.)  Begin by choosing a bank. IMPORTANT: Make sure and do your research, all banks are different.

2.) Once you choose a bank, register with the bank, fill out the paperwork, and get your cord blood kit.

3.) Make your health care facility and or doctor aware of your decision to save the cord, so they will be properly equip for the collection.

Once you start the process you will see how easy it really is. And you will feel much more at ease knowing that you are banking your new bundle of joys cord blood. Cord blood banking is a process that takes very little time and could make the difference between life and death for your family in the future.

TIP: Decide early on in your pregnancy to save the cord so you will not feel rushed at the last minute and you and your doctor will be ready for delivery day!

To learn more about the value and potential of cord blood please visit http://www.nataliecurry.com

Becoming a new parent is filled with many questions and excitment. One of the most important questions for every new parent should be, " Am I going to save my babies umbilical cord blood?" Unfortunately 60% of expecting mothers consider themselves as being MILDLY informed about the option of saving their babies cord blood. Which means the remaining 40% aren't informed at all about this option.  Although the thought of your child ever being deathly ill is not something you want to think about, it is better to save it, just in case. Recently a woman emailed me saying that she wanted to save her babies cord blood but when she made the staff at the hospital aware of this, their response was, "We do NOT have the ability to save the cord blood." 

Imagine not saving it and then finding out a year or two later that one of your other children has a deadly disease and had you saved the cord blood you could have saved them. The stem cells found in cord blood can currently treat over 70 different diseases, and this number is rapidly increasing.

My passion for this cause comes from my personal experiences with cord blood. In 1989 my younger sisters cord blood was the first to ever be collected and saved, to be used for my future transplant. I am very lucky to be alive and have decided to dedicate my self to raising educational awareness of cord blood.  Saving your babies cord blood is a once in a lifetime opportunity, if you don't save it at the time of birth you can never get it back. If the cord is not saved it is discarded as medical waste. Please take this "TRASH" and turn it into an incredible, lifesaving "TREASURE." To learn more about my families story please visit http://www.nataliecurry.com