Western
Australia doesn’t yet have a public cord blood banking facility.
That means that cord blood has to come from cord blood banks in the eastern
states or overseas. Rotary WA’s vision can change that.
In 2005, in celebration of Rotary International’s
100th birthday, Rotary WA committed to fundraising $6 million to establish
the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank as a special gift to the people of Western
Australia.
You may be aware that fundraising for the UWA Medical School was the ‘gift’
to Western Australia on the occasion of Rotary International’s 50th
Anniversary.
A mother with a newborn healthy baby can help to save another life by
donating the blood from the placenta and umbilical cord after birth. The
blood can be used for life saving transplants for patients with severe
blood and bone marrow diseases. Cord blood transplantation is now a proven
treatment alternative for adults as well as children and has been used
for thousands of patients worldwide. The possibility of using cord blood
for other conditions such as severe heart disease, joint degeneration
and transplant complications is currently the subject of clinical and
scientific research.
The fundraising campaign is already well under way. There has been tremendous
support from:
• Lotterywest who has contributed $2 million to the campaign.
• Western Australian Rotary Clubs who have directly contributed
over $1 million.
• Dr Haruhisa Handa who has pledged $0.5 million to the campaign.
• Corporate organisations who (in total) have pledged another $0.75
million.
• There are two fantastic Charity Homes being built – one
at MeVé at Beelier, the other at South Bunbury. Both are expected
to be auctioned in 2008 with net proceeds going to the Rotary WA Cord
Blood Bank campaign.
We currently have cash and pledges totalling $5 million, which is enough
to start the building phase of the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank facility,
but not enough to operate it.
We need to raise a
further $1 million.
This is your chance to leave your mark for posterity.
Rotary WA’s vision is to house the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank in a new extension on the third floor of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service building in Wellington Street, Perth. The Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank will provide processing, testing and storage facilities as well as special equipment to bank the donations according to stringent safety and regulatory requirements. The cord blood donations will be safely stored until they are used for a matched critically ill patient waiting for a transplant.
Ways you can donate
Your donation can be made either online, click here or by mail to: Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank Trust, c/- KPC Accounting Pty Ltd, PO Box 85, Kwinana WA 6966
To discuss details of how your donation can be recognised or applied to a specific part
of the project please contact John Iriks on: (B) 9419 1077 or (M) 0417 904 419 or by email: john_iriks@iinet.net.au
