$100 MAZE Cord Blood Banking Giveaway{2 Winners}

**CLOSED**

Pregnant mothers everywhere will agree with me when I say how exciting being an expectant mom is. Dreaming of what & who they will look like, what the gender of the baby will be, what color to paint the nursery, what his or her name is going to be? You don't often think of the bad things that could happen, although you think of how painful the delivery will be and sometimes 'what if something goes wrong?'

When I had Chucky I was scared to death! I thought positive and yet still didn't or couldn't hope and pray enough because at 28 weeks my little miracle was born. I got a lot of bad news and a lot of good news but couldn't bring myself to imagine the worst. When Chucky was born they didn't have cord blood banking and if they did I didn't know anything about it and don't know of anybody who did. When you don't know what's going on, what to expect or are just interested in something what do we do, we do research.

What is a cord blood bank?
It is a laboratory that stores your child's umbilical cord blood. The blood collected from the umbilical cord immediately following the birth of a child. This blood is provided nourishment for the baby during pregnancy, but once the baby is delivered umbilical cord blood is no longer necessary for the baby. Umbilical cord blood is rich in multi potent hematopoietic stem cells(or blood stem cells). These cord blood stem cells produce the cellular ingredients necessary for the blood and the immune system. When the umbilical cord blood cells are transplanted into patients, they can help restore the immune and blood systems to help fight diseases and replace diseased blood.

How does Saving Cord Blood & Cord Blood Storage work?
Immediately after the baby's birth, a physician or nurse will collect one bag of umbilical cord blood, which is approximately 150 ml. or 5 oz.

The cord blood will be collected after the umbilical cord has been cut and either before or after the placenta has been delivered. Therefore, there is absolutely no risk to you or your baby.
•Additionally, the physician will draw three tubes of the mother's blood for testing.
•You, or your partner, will notify us that the cord blood collection is done; then a medical courier will be sent to the hospital.
•A medical courier will bring the cord blood collection kit containing the cord blood and the mother's blood to M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories.
In the lab, the technician will:
•Reduce the volume of the blood to about one quarter of the collected volume (approximately 25 ml or 63 oz.) by removing a large proportion of the red blood cells and plasma (liquid portion of the blood). The red blood cells and plasma do not need to be stored as they do not contain stem cells.
•Analyze the cord blood to determine how many transplantable cells are present and create a report with this information. This information will be useful in case you need to use the cord blood later.
•Add cryopreservative (special chemicals to help in the freezing process) to the remaining stem cell collection.
•Slowly chill the bag at a rate of 1º centigrade (C) per minute until it reaches the optimal freezing temperature of -130º C (-320º Fahrenheit).
•Transfer the stem cell collection into storage.
•Run the mother's blood through a wide variety of tests to ensure that there are no diseases present at the time of delivery that could have transferred to the child's cord blood.

Chucky is doing amazing and yet I am still terrified not knowing if he will get cancer and if one day he could have used his umbilical cord blood to help save his life. I think that as parents no matter what happens we can beat ourselves up over all of the 'what ifs,' and the story of baby John is an example of how cord blood banking could help not only save the life of your child but also others in your family.

If you choose to use a cord blood bank these are some of the diseases that can be treated:
- Cerebral Palsy
- Leukemia
- Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Sometimes called Pre-Leukemia
- Lymphomas
- Inherited Red Cell(Erythrocyte)Abnormalities
- Other Disorders of Blood Cell Proliferation
- Bone Marrow Cancers
- Other Cancers

Buy It:
If your thinking of saving cord blood, MAZE Cord Blood Laboratories is an affordable cord blood bank. They offer nationwide delivery and no additional storage charges.

Win:
MAZE Cord Blood Laboratories is giving two(2) Ma21cuteboy readers a $100 cord blood banking coupon!
*Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Don't forget to leave your links, names, urls & email address*
Mandatory Entry:
Visit MAZE Blood Cord Laboratories and tell me one thing you've learned or like about them.

Extra Entries:
'Like' MAZE Blood Cord Laboratories on Facebook
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Share this giveaway on your Facebook page
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Grab the Ma21cuteboy button & place on your sidebar
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Add this giveaway to a linky, forum sweepstakes etc.-4
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Enter to win $100 GC to MAZE Cord Blood Bank @cord_blood_bank at @Ma21cuteboy 2/10 US/CAN http://bit.ly/f1213w

Contest Guidelines:
Giveaway will close on at March 10th at 11:59 MT Giveaway is open to residents of U.S. & Canada 18+
Coupon is transferrable & can be given as a gift to a relative or friend.
Winners will be chosen via Random.org
Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner(s) will be chosen
Winners will be notified via email as well as in a winning post here on the blog
I verify all entries and if they are not done, you will forfeit your prize!

*Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. I was sent some educational products to facilitate this post. The opinions expresses are honest, that of my own & others' may differ.*