Unique Ideas For Baby Showers (NAPSA)—While bottles and blankets are common—andessential—items on baby shower gift registries, there’s another unique gift registry option that expectant parents should consider: a cord blood banking gift registry. Inviting friends and family to contribute to preserving a newborn’s umbilical cord blood can be a gift for life—literally. Umbilical cord blood is a rich and diverse source of newborn stem cells that are collected after a baby is born. Stem cells are an invaluable resource in a variety of medical treatments for cancer and other serious diseases. Newborn stem cells have distinct advantages compared to other sources of stem cells like bone marrow because they are younger, match more easily between family members and are immediately available if needed. They have also demonstrated embryoniclike capabilities to develop into the major cell types in the body. In addition, doctors are beginning to use an individual’s own stem cells (also called “autologous” use) in regenerative medicine to repair damaged tissue and regenerate healthy cells. They are being used to treat diseases that today have no known cure, such as brain injury and type 1 diabetes, and are yielding exciting preliminary results. Cord Blood Registry (CBR), the largest cord blood bank, is dedicated to helping families preserve Consider a baby showergift that could lasta lifetime. this important biological resource by introducing a cord blood gift registry. “We started CBR’s gift registry at the request of our clients, who considered storing a newborn’s cord blood equally as valuable as many of the more traditional shower gifts,” said Stephen Grant, executive vice president of CBR. “It’s a unique gift registry that provides friends and loved ones the opportunity to purchase a lasting gift, rather than a toy or clothing that the child will outgrow.” Families that have enrolled in CBR’s gift registry can make an announcement to friends and loved ones through a customized e-mail or contribution cards that can be included in baby shower invitations. To search for someone by nameor for more information, visit www.CordBlood.com/Gift Registry.
