Humboldt General Hospital has teamed up with Donor Network West to launch the region’s first birth tissue donation program.
Parents can choose to donate birth tissue after childbirth. The goal is to help burn victims, surgery patients, or even advance medical research.
The idea is to offer a way for parents to donate placentas and umbilical cords, which are typically discarded after delivery, said Matt Graves, vice president of tissue operations at Donor Network West.
“When an expecting mother has an interest in donating their placental tissue, we approach them. Either before or after they labor to ask if they would like to donate their placenta. The donation only occurs after a healthy birth occurs, so this doesn't interrupt the mother's birth plan or the way that they're treated medically,” Graves said.
One donor has the potential to heal more than 50 patients.
“Placental tissues are pretty amazing in that they can be used, the membranes specifically can be used as a biological patch for use in wound therapy and surgical repair. And the best way I could describe it is like a human band-aid,” Graves said.
The program is free and voluntary, and it's available in Carson City and Winnemucca through Donor Network West. But they plan to expand it to other communities.
“We started our rural program out in Winnemucca, but we've been talking with many of the other regions in northern Nevada, Fallon, anywhere that has a birthing unit, we've asked to participate and there has been a lot of great interest,” Graves said.
The hospital's first birth tissue donation came from a baby boy born in April. His donation has already been used.
For more information, visit Donor NetworkWest.org.
