One-year-old Bella Drzewiecki was born on March 12, 2018.
When she was born, her parents said she was a blessing. But her birth also blessed 100 others in need of healing.
Bella and her mom, Kathryn, donated birth tissue through Unyts' Birth Tissue Donation Program.
"What we are doing is taking cells from that placenta or amnion is another portion of the placenta or umbilical cord that can be used in burn victims, eye victims, and some other healing processes," OBGYN Catherine Falkner said.
Added Unyts Birth Tissue Donation Manager Kayla Giancarlo: "Most commonly it's used in ocular and dental procedures, as well as in conjunction with skin grafts for burn victims. It also has uses to repair tendons and nerves. It has uses in spinal cord injuries."
As a mother, Kathryn Drzewiecki said she didn't know about birth tissue donation until she needed to have a planned cesarean section.
"I thought, that's such a great idea. I mean, you're not doing anything with a placenta, and it can help 100 lives in different ways. It's absolutely amazing," she said.
Any mother with a scheduled C-section is eligible to donate. The problem is not many mothers know that.
"There's a lot of people who have no idea that this is an option for them," Falkner said.
Unyts says the process is simple. It involves some paperwork and a phone call.
"When I went in to have the C-section, the technician came in and did the paperwork with me, gave us a crocheted blanket for the baby, and it was super easy," Drzewiecki said.
Falkner says if a mother chooses not to donate, the placenta would be thrown away.
"If you think about doing 30 donations a month, up to 100 different grafts from each donation, we are impacting the lives of countless people," Giancarlo said.
For more information on Unyt's Birth Tissue Donation Program click here.
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