Valentine Gift for You... and Help Out Haiti, Too

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Cryo-Cell International. All opinions are 100% mine.

My loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives readers know that I've been particularly grateful lately for my family's good health. I learned last week that a client's teenage son, Evan, has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. While they will treat it aggressively and will have access to the best doctors at their local children's hospital, the odds of beating it are not good, so we continue to pray for our client and her son. Evan's family has set up a CaringBridge web site and it is heartwarming to see how many people have stopped by to offer prayers and lend their support. I spend a lot of time thinking about how, without frightening London and Maddie, I can help them to understand how very fortunate we are... how unimportant our day-to-day challenges (forgetting a homework assignment, losing a glove, a playground argument) are in the grand scheme of things.

My girls do have good hearts and want to help others. Earlier this week, London and Maddie participated in a Hope for Haiti fundraiser at Mendham Township Elementary School. All of the kids brought in contributions and wore their favorite team jerseys. There's another way to help rebuild the future for the children of Haiti from the devastation of the earthquake when you enroll now with Cryo-Cell to safeguard the future of your own newborn. Throughout the month of February, Cryo-Cell will donate $25 from each enrollment to the “Save the Children: Haiti Relief Fund.”

When London and Maddie were born, Rex and I "banked" their cord blood, which remains in the umbilical cord and placenta at the time of birth and used to be discarded following delivery. Once scientists discovered it was a rich source of stem cells, umbilical cord blood became a viable substitute to bone marrow in thousands of successful transplants. Cells taken from your newborn's cord blood are a perfect match for your baby for his or her lifetime. In the event your child contracts a disease which must be treated with chemotherapy or radiation, there is a probability of a negative impact on the immune system. While an autologous (self) transplant may not be appropriate for every disease, there could be a benefit in using the preserved U-Cord® stem cells to bolster and repopulate your child’s blood and immune system as a result of complications from other treatments.

So this Valentine's Day, give your child or a friend's child a gift that lasts a lifetime... enroll with Cryo-Cell to bank a baby's umbilical cord blood and Cryo-Cell will donate $25 to "Save the Children: Haiti Relief Fund."