West Orange Native Educates The Public About Lifesaving Umbilical Cord Donation – TAPinto.net

Beth GoozmanElkis, West Orange native and Group Creative Director at Ogilvy Health Advertising Agency, recently accomplished her 10-year objective of educating the public about donated umbilical cords saving lives.

At the end of a woman's pregnancy, herdoctor often hands her a brochure about banking her baby's umbilical cord, as it is rich in stem cells that may help the child or another family member if a health issue arises.

The process is costly, which prohibits many from doing it. Elkis explained, When my son Zach was born, we decided to pay to bank his cord blood in case our family ever needed it.She added, It wasnt inexpensive, and the chances are slim you will ever need it, so many people dont pay to use a family bank.

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If the cordisn't banked, it goes into medical waste after it's cut from the baby.Wasting millions of cordsrich with stem cellseach year isa shamebecause those cellscan cure 80 diseases.

Elkis'husbands friend needed a bone marrow or stem cell transplant when he was diagnosed with acute leukemia. According to Elkis, They searched high and low for a donor to no avail. Finally, their transplant coordinator recommended a cord blood donation, utilizing stem cells from donated umbilical cords.

As an adult male, he needed a larger amount of cells for his body weight and received the stem cells from two cords.

Elkis shared that she was shocked that she hadnt been told about umbilical cord donations. When I heard my friends husbands story, I couldn't believe that the topic of donation never came up in any of my discussions with my doctor. I polled friends, and none had ever heard that donation was an option.

She mentioned that she didnt have time to do anything about the lack of awareness of cord donations at the time because had a young child and a demanding job.

Fortunately, the advertising agency she works for specializes inpharmaceutical and healthcare areas. She knew she could use her position to help others. I decided that at some point I would make spreading awareness about cord blood donation my calling, reported Elkis.

Elkis is grateful that the agency she works for allowed her to spend time on her pro-bonopet project. She stated, Due to the incredible support of my company, Ogilvy, we have launched The Youngest Donor. Our client, The Parents Guide to Cord Blood Foundation is the preeminent source of both banked and donated cord blood donation globally.

Her determination to spread the word may save manylives.

Learn more about cord blood HERE.

Click HERE to view the ad campaign video.

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West Orange Native Educates The Public About Lifesaving Umbilical Cord Donation - TAPinto.net