Dubai: Mothers and medical staff who have actively pushed for cord banking were congratulated by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) on the premises of Latifa Hospital on Wednesday.
As ambassadors for cord banking and stem cell advances, mothers were lauded for preserving and/or donating their cord blood. The medical staff involved in collection was appreciated as well.
Emirati Ameenah Al Yamahi said she was thankful to God that she decided to preserve cord blood from her youngest son’s birth last year because it helped treat her daughter Mohra Naji Al Darmaki diagnosed with thalassaemia at four months of age.
“Mohra, now four, is perfectly fine. She was treated in the UK and her follow-ups were done in Dubai. I am grateful that the stem cells changed her life,” said Ameenah.
Staff nurse Aleyamma Varky from the delivery ward of Latifa Hospital was designated to collect cord blood during Ameenah’s pregnancy last year. “After I learnt that the cord blood I collected has potentially saved the life of a girl suffering from thalassaemia, I feel great. It is the greatest gift a human being can give another,” she said.
Nurse Salome Philip from the delivery ward of Latifa Hospital, added: “We have seen more and more women signing up to donate or preserve cord blood. It is a good sign.”
Zahra Ali Yahya, an Emirati mother of seven, said that she believes in the life-saving potential of cord blood. Pregnant with her eighth child, she said she has registered again for cord banking donation. “I have donated cord blood for the past pregnancies and I will donate again after I deliver in July this year,” she said.
Zeena Shuker, a 30-year-old British expatriate said she saved the cord blood during the births of her three sons. She said it is the purest form of medicine.
- With inputs from Noor Nazzal, intern with Gulf News
