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Dr. Robert Atlas, Chair, Department of OB/GYN at Mercy, discusses Mercy's participation in the first public cord blood bank in Maryland

Mercy And Community Blood Services Announces Launch Of First Public Cord Blood Bank In Maryland

(Baltimore, MD) -- Community Blood Services and Mercy Medical Center announced their new partnership at the kick-off for the first public cord blood bank in Maryland the morning of Monday, Oct. 11th.

Beginning Oct. 11th, all women giving birth at Mercy Medical Center will have the opportunity to donate their babies’ lifesaving umbilical cord blood for free to be listed on the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry for use by patients in need of transplants in Maryland or anywhere in the world.

Guest speakers include Sarah Shaffer, whose son Mason was saved by a public cord blood transplant; renowned medical professionals including Dr. Robert Atlas, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mercy; Maryland Archbishop Edwin Frederick O’Brien; and Maryland State Senator Nancy Jacobs.

Members of local media, local dignitaries and representative of Mercy Medical Center and Community Blood Services attend the Oct. 11th press conference.

Umbilical cord blood is rich in non-controversial stem cells which can be used to successfully treat more than 90 life-threatening diseases, including many types of cancers and blood disorders. Umbilical cord blood is a byproduct of birth that is usually discarded. Donation is harmless to the mother and baby and completely painless.

About the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank (NJCBB) at Community Blood Services
In 2005, New Jersey became the first state in the U.S. to create a publicly funded umbilical cord blood and placental stem cell bank and education program. Community Blood Services took over all operations of the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank (NJCBB) in 2007, becoming the state’s only public cord blood bank for the State of New Jersey. Today, the NJCBB is a member of the National Marrow Donor Program and collects umbilical cords from mothers delivering at designated hospitals in New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Maryland to list on the NMDP Registry, which is searched for lifesaving stem cell matches.

About Community Blood Services
In addition to being the home of the NJCBB, Community Blood Services is one of the largest independent blood centers serving New Jersey and New York State, supplying blood and blood products to more than 30 hospitals in those states. Its headquarters is in Oradell, NJ. It operates donor centers in Paramus and Lincoln Park (NJ), and Warwick and New Windsor (NY), and runs mobile blood drives with schools, corporations and community groups. Its HLA Registry, which recruits volunteer marrow stem cell donors, is one of the largest independent members of the NMDP. Community Blood Services is fully licensed and accredited. Additional information is available at www.communitybloodservices.org.

For more details on the program and news about the Oct. 11th press conference, note this story on the Baltimore Sun news site: http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-mercy-blood-cord-20101008,0,7199737.story. For more information on Mercy, visit Mercy online at www.mdmercy.com or call 1-800-M.D.-Mercy.