August 2016

You can imagine the elation Patricia and Lou felt when they learned they would be having a child. Unfortunately, that feeling of excitement turned into apprehension when a routine blood test at the five-month mark found Patricia had an aggressive form of leukemia. “I was so excited to be a mother, and at the same time, all I could think about was, Will she have a mother?” said Patricia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that women who are pregnant in any trimester should talk to their physicians and consider postponing travel to any area where Zika virus transmission is active. So if you’re pregnant, how worried should you be about Zika? And how will it affect your plans for cord blood banking?

Researchers report the rate of rejection, infection and hospitalization are lower among leukemia patients receiving cord blood than those receiving matched, unrelated bone marrow. The study's results may lead doctors to lean towards cord blood as a transplant option over bone marrow when deciding what’s best for their patients.