It is estimated that 45,000 people will be diagnosed with leukemia this year, and approximately, 22,000 deaths in the US will be attributed to Leukemia. This terrible heart wrenching disease does not only affect a certain age, gender, or race. It is blind to it’s victims and has many different types. Many of you are probably thinking that leukemia affects more children than adults. The truth according to, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is that it affects more adults past the age of 60, than children. Luckily the stem cells found inside your baby’s cord blood can help treat and cure many forms of leukemia. Due to cord blood’s unique, naive immune system, it does not need to be as closely matched to the patient and therefore doctors can identify a cord blood donor in approximately 99% of patients who can’t find a conventional donor. Cord blood is readily available as it is collected at the time of birth and then stored until future use. This can help cut back on the amount of time searching for a match.In blood diseases such as leukemia TIME is of the essence and every second counts. I am baffled by these facts and am determined to help ensure everyone realizes the benefits of cord blood. I am not alone in this journey. Last week I had the privilege to meet (again) with the President of the, National Children’s Leukemia Foundation (NCLF) , Mr.Shor. At their foundation they also realize the importance of cord blood preservation and are working to raise educational awareness. This generous foundation is one of the leading non profit organizations in the battle against cancer and leukemia in children and adults. This foundation has been one that is near and dear to my heart for a very long time. In 1993, I met Mr. Shor for the first time when my Mom was asked to speak at their conference in New York. My entire family traveled to New York for the big event where we got to meet supermodel,Cindy Crawford, actress, Susan Lucci, and many, many others. This was when I was first introduced to the world of public speaking. My sister’s, Dad and I all stood by my Moms side on stage as she delivered her speech. Although I was very young, I will never forget looking into the crowd and watching as tears rolled across peoples faces. That was the beginning, that was when I realized that I wanted to help too! So now I am looking forward to being able to follow in my moms footsteps, by being reconnected with NCLF. “Each year, more than 4 million children are born in the US. If every childbearing woman chose to collect and store cord blood, millions of lives could be saved.” – NCLF To learn more about NCLF:http: //www.leukemiafoundation.org/ To learn more about Leukemia:http: //www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls Please help spread the word! Together We Can Help Save Lives, Natalie Curry

I have some very exciting news to share with you- July is national cord blood awareness month! There is no better time to take advantage of cord blood preservation. There are going to be several events this month to celebrate the wonderful blessing of cord blood. Now is the time to educate yourself and everyone around you. Exciting Events to look out for this month: July 2nd- Allaboutcordblood.com Live webinar- "How Cord Blood Transplants Work"- Watch recorded version:http://allaboutcordblood.com/video/past_webinars July 16th- Allaboutcordblood.com Live Webinar- "Cord blood banking and minorities"- Check in later for exact time Week of July 23rd NEW updates on FREE allaboutcordblood.com e-book. Please don't let this once in a life opportunity to store your baby's cord blood pass you by! I want to help! Please contact me if i can be of any help to you and your family when making this exciting decision. Natalie@allaboutcordblood.com

When it comes to deciding to bank your babies cord blood there are a few VERY crucial decisions you need to make. The biggest decision is weather or not to donate the cord blood to a public facility or to bank it privately. This is a question that has remained constant in the cord blood industry for years and one that I have been repeatedly asked about. ABC news recently did a special about cord blood banking. Unfortunately this special was very one sided and didn't speak the entire truth about public vs private cord blood banking. So now I'm going to clear that up for you. I'm going to explain everything they left out so you will have a better understanding of how the system actually works. Parents have three choices when it comes to their babies cord blood:

1. Donate the cord blood to a public Facility
2. Bank the cord blood at a private bank
3. Discard the cord blood completely as medical waste

Donating to a public facility: This is a very misunderstood area in the industry by parents. Yes, it is free to donate your baby's cord blood to a public facility and yes, it is a better alternative than completely discarding the cord blood as medical waste. However there are some down sides: One of them being that due to lack of space, funding and several other reasons 80 % of all publicly donated cord blood is discarded. While in a perfect world all donated cord blood would be saved, at this time it is not possible. Another downside is that if your child or any other family member ever needed the cord blood that you donated there is a VERY high chance that your cord blood would no longer be available. This brings us to another downside, if you ever required cord blood for treatment it could cost you up to 40,000 dollars to obtain the cord blood from a public facility. Lastly in order to donate your cord blood you must give birth in a hospital that allows public cord blood collections. In the ABC special it was clear that they intended to persuade parents to donate cord blood publicly. They forgot to mention all of the above reasons not to.... Private Cord Blood Banking: To bank your cord blood at a private cord blood bank it could cost anywhere from 2,00-3,00o dollars. These costs range from bank to bank and many cord blood banks offer payment plans to help with your budget. Possibly the best part about private storage is that your cord blood will be used at your discretion. With the amount of stem cell research being conducted more and more diseases,and various medical conditions such as injuries are becoming treatable with the stem cells found inside of cord blood. It is only a matter of time before stem cells from cord blood become commonly used in the medical field. The costs to bank your babies cord blood privately is actually very small when considering a persons life span. Private cord blood banks are charging you for a service, a service that can save and improve lives. Nothing different from pharmaceutical companies that make medicine to treat diseases. Discarding: Until my baby sisters cord blood was the first to be collected in 1988, this priceless medical miracle was always tossed in the trash! I am an advocate for ALL cord blood preservation be it public or private. I strongly encourage you to educate yourself on this important issue before deciding. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't let it pass you by! If you have Any questions about this topic please check out my live webinar on Friday June 4th at 4 eastern at http://www.allaboutcordblood.com This is an interactive webinar with Q&A. Please feel free to e-mail me anytime with any questions or comments at natalie@allaboutcordblood.com! Together We Can Help Save Lives, Natalie Curry

I am excited to report possibly the most exciting research I have found to date... As you probably already know my sisters cord blood saved my life in 1989. What you may not know is that this cord blood helped save my life again in 2006. When my sister donated her kidney for my kidney transplant something extra special happened. Since receiving the cord blood transplant her kidney couldn't tell the difference from her body to mine! The truly amazing part besides having a perfect donor, is that unlike all other transplant recipients, I do not and never will have to take ANY medication associated with transplantation. This has helped provide me with a much higher quality of life. As there are several medications involved with numerous life altering side effects. Why I'm so excited: I just read an article about how scientist are performing research at this time to essentially perform bone marrow/ cord blood transplants simultaneously with kidney transplants from the same donor. I am living proof that this works and it is only a matter of time before more and more people will be given this same opportunity. To read more about this research please check out this article: http://allaboutcordblood.com/whats_new/cordblood_news/15 I am lucky just to say I'm a survivor of a cord blood transplant but I am even luckier to say that cord blood helped save my life more than once! So please join me in my efforts to raise awareness about this incredible cause! Together We Can Help Save Lives, Natalie Curry

Green is the new color not only for the preservation of the planet but also for the preservation of life. CorCell already plays an important role in recycling life's most priceless gift- Stem Cells. It is still common after delivery to discard the umbilical cord and placenta blood. They become medical waste. The cord and placenta blood hold invaluable, unique stem cells that can never be produced again. Did you know that if we continue on the same track that your baby will have a 1 in 7 chance to use the stored cells at birth to help save or improve their own life? On Earth Day CorCell announced their commitment not only to the health of their customers, but also to the health of the planet. CorCell as a company and as individuals have taken steps to be as “green” as possible. Rather than creating medical waste let's recycle the gifts from birth to help save and improve lives. Don't throw life away, save the CORD, save a LIFE, and save the PLANET. Together We can Help Save Lives, Natalie Curry

After you make the decision to save your baby's cord blood the next step is deciding where. With so many other decisions to make about your child's future, having to decide which bank to use may seem a little daunting.

Well, I have good news I can help you!

After years of research and a lifetime of understanding the importance of cord blood preservation I can happily announce that my CHOICE for cord blood banking is CorCell.

CorCell is a Cord Blood America owned company and the first licensed private cord blood bank in the United States. From years of experience CorCell has designed a user friendly process for collecting, transporting and storing your stem cells.

CorCell processes all cord blood in a new in-house lab.

· Laboratory processing is performed at our new Las Vegas Laboratory with testing conducted by CLIA approved, licensed reference laboratories

· Laboratory processing is performed utilizing the BioE PrepaCyte-CB® sterile cord blood processing system. The BioE system is 510K and FDA approved

· The BioE system is manufactured under FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations. The interconnected three-bag design, along with the sterile fluid path, limits cell manipulation and helps minimize environmental contamination and identification errors · Laboratory Director with over 25 years experience in cell processing, storage and transplants

· FDA registered for Human Cells, Tissue based products and Cellular Tissues (HCT/Ps)

Program credentials include:

· Safe, reliable, easy-to-use collection procedure

· History of cord blood collections nationwide and internationally

· 100% transplant success rate

· First known autologous transplant worldwide for childhood leukemia

· Discounts through health insurance partners

· 24/7 Customer Service for providers and parents

I cannot stress to you enough the importance of choosing the best cord blood bank to store your babies stem cells. It is only a matter of time before stem cells will become a standard for treating various medical conditions. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't let it pass you by.

I am the proud spokesperson for CorCell. For more information on CorCell please visit www.corcell.com or call (888) 882-267

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