VALDOSTA – Mothers who deliver their babies at South Georgia Medical Center will now have the opportunity to publicly bank their umbilical cord blood, at no cost, in a “heroic effort to help patients with life-threatening diseases,” hospital officials said in a statement.

Cord blood, which is normally discarded by most following delivery, can be used to save lives by effectively treating more than 80 diseases, they added. Life-threatening conditions such as leukemia, sickle cell disease and Hurler syndrome have all seen successful treatment with stem cell transplants.

SGMC is partnering with the LifeSouth Cord Blood Bank, a public nonprofit cord blood bank licensed by the FDA. Donated cord blood that meets eligibility criteria will be listed on the Be The Match Registry, the world’s largest donor registry, hospital officials said. The units are then available to transplant centers and patients in need around the world.

“What better way to welcome your child into this world, than by choosing to donate something that is otherwise discarded, to help enhance the lives of others,” said Debbie Smith, SGMC women & children nurse manager.

LifeSouth Cord Blood Bank is a program of LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, the sole provider of blood to SGMC since 2016.

“We are thankful to SGMC for their commitment to helping save lives through the collection of cord blood,” said Kim Kinsell, president and CEO of LifeSouth Community Blood Centers. “They are giving new mothers the opportunity to potentially help patients facing some of the most challenging and complex diseases.”

SGMC is committed to women’s health throughout the region and continues to deploy the latest technology and develop cutting-edge programs for women and infants. SGMC’s Birthplace has the region’s only Level IIB Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with two neonatologists and the area’s only OB hospitalist program and OB emergency department. 

SGMC is one of only three hospitals in Georgia to offer AngelEye Health, a secure video surveillance to connect families with their newborns.

SGMC delivers more than 2,000 babies annually. 

For more information on any of these programs, visit sgmc.org.