What do you think about baby umbilical cord-blood banking? I first heard of it when expecting my first child, in the early 90s. (I’d also heard that hospitals take the placenta and sell them and that they were used in things like shampoo and hand lotions, is this true?). Cryo-Cell is a company that distributes umbilical cord collection kits to expectant parents shortly before the birth of their baby. When the baby is born, a small collection of the cord blood is saved and stored at the Cryo-Cell facility for future use should it arise.

I have a somewhat personal experience with this. A close friend of mine had a baby who later developed bone cancer. The young child needed a bone marrow transplant, but no suitable donors could be found. So the couple had another baby, and this new baby’s bone marrow was a match. It was a very emotional time, though. I suppose that storing something like cord blood would have helped in this situation, because stem cells collected from cord blood has been shown to be useful in treating many diseases, including leukemia, anemia, lymphoma, diabetes, and cerebral palsy. It’s pretty amazing, actually. I also had another friend who, before major surgery, banked her own blood ahead of time. She was concerned about the safety of the public blood supply (this was during the mid-80s, during the threat of AIDS in the blood supply) and wanted to ensure that any transfusions would be of her own stored blood. I thought it was a smart thing to do.

There is a lot more information about this at the Cryo-Cell website; I found the information to be riveting and very comprehensive. They even offer gift certificates for the holidays! You can buy a collection kit and give it away as a holiday gift (or even a baby gift). (See Cryo-Cell’s current offers here). What do you think about something like that? Would you appreciate a gift certificate from a grandma for something like this?

I believe in “experimental” medicine. I do, I do. Of course, I believe in all-natural medicine. I was a guinea pig for US obstetrics when I was pregnant for my child. My pregnancies always run very late (3 to 4 weeks late– imagine that!) and my babies are HUGE. So my doctor, a Canadian, asked me if I wanted to try a new procedure to induce labor. It had been very effective in Canada, where the medical industry is more liberal about such things. And I was as fat as a cow and feeling very ill. So I signed the paperwork and was injected with prostaglandin gel (prostaglandin is a naturally-produced hormone that stimulates uterine activity). In two hours, labor started! I was able to have a natural childbirth and I felt GREAT! Unfortunately, the prostaglandin technique did not work for my later inductions– I had to have the Pitocin IV drip, and that was miserable.

Anyway, I am very much in favor of more natural medicine. It is with some interest that I am reading a Resveratrol forum. Resveratrol is a natural chemical produced by some plants (Japanese knotweed and red grapes), and can be synthesized, too. It’s been used to lengthen the lifespans of some animals, and is currently being experimented with as a cancer-treating drug. No one really knows if it will work, but there are some brave people willing to try it.

I think our medical industry has, in many ways, failed us. When we are sick or suffering, what is handed to us? Another drug or devastating treatment (like chemotheraphy). My young niece suffered from leukemia, and OH what those nasty treatments did to her poor little body. :( All that money for all those decades going to the American Cancer Society and all we have to show for it is chemo??

I believe in healing. I believe that God heals people. That’s the best way. I don’t know why some people are healed and some are seemingly not… but I believe it is possible and I have seen it happen with my own eyes. But God is merciful, too– He has provided us with a world full of provision for our health and happiness. That’s why I am in favor of natural methods for relief and cures.

I have a back injury that sometimes gives me great pain. But besides that, I am as healthy as a horse, and still stronger and more fit than even my own kids! The back injury came from abusing my own body, by making it work much more than it should have. So sometimes I re-strain it and I have pain. But I am trying to get away from pain-relieving drugs and really trying to trust God. And I am trying to take care of my body, to know my limits. For me, that is the hardest thing of all, knowing my limits, because I want to do everything, ya know?

What do you think? Do you hate all the drugs and advertisements for drugs? Do you think God has provided us with natural things– like plants and the chemicals in our own bodies– to heal us?