Hello and welcome to the gifted life podcast where we have conversations about organ tissue and eye donation and transplantation You can always find us at thegiftedlife.org. I'm Roy Steele. I'm Joey Boudreau. I'm Sarah Blakemore coming up on the gifted life today Birth tissue donation.
What is it? What's it use for? We'll be talking to Nelson Balor to find out all about it And we're gonna talk about three ways to be a better listener all that more right here episode 179. Hang on Here on the get to life podcast.
We are honored to have Nelson Balor joining us. Hey Nelson Hello Nelson serves as the manager the training and education manager for sharing miracles Which we love that title but what you do is so amazing as well. So sharing miracles What is it? Well sharing miracles is a division of tissue tech ink and we handle the procurement of the tissue Specifically birth tissue placentas and umbilical cords for the transplantation use into different biologic products So what exactly so what type of products would you guys be transplanting that into well tissue tech ink?
specializes in unmet clinical needs so what that means is that any area within the medical industry where There is a specific difficult case where wound healing is involved that you know where we can make an impact where currently There isn't something that is available for that kind of treatment course So a couple of different examples would be advanced diabetic ulcers or disease processes of the cordial surface and Helping those difficult wounds to heal effectively and restore good quality of life to those individuals So what is exactly is it about the birth tissue that makes it special that that like why would it be used over? You know other other means that we you know going back way back in a day, you know for all of our wound care means that we had before No, that's an excellent question So the course that would be traditionally used for wound management in some advanced wounds could be amputation or you know some of the other products that are available made of both natural and artificial barriers only focus on decreasing the risk for infection and creating a solid barrier across the wound for like the matrix of the body's natural building processes to take place what's special about birth tissue is that in fetal development the Baby doesn't actually have scars. They don't go through inflammation and scarification in the same way that Adult does during their healing process. So leveraging that base technology that's already present in naturally and umbilical cords and amion We're able to reduce scarring and inflammation and help to heal areas where there's not good oxygenation or poor circulation So is it is it also so I'm trying to try to wrap my head around things So so a little back story personal back story for me I had a baby just over a year ago and I know my wife had looked into and we actually went this direction with Cord blood kind of I think it's called cord blood registry is where we went But and what we were understanding is because of you know the stem cell portion the regeneration portion of that it could possibly help our Child if something should happen later on is this some of the same idea here some of the same science behind this So this is a completely different thing.
No, so this is an excellent question So this is there's two different directions that will go with this So the first thing is that the cord blood banking and also cord blood storage for your own private banking or two separate things So if you bank the cord blood for yourself for future use just as you described it You can heal some disease processes and there are some treatments that can be made with the stem cells You know from that cord blood Additionally, there is a bank just like there is for blood banking for storage of donated For blood which can then be used for the community not specifically allocated for you now The processes that are involved in those are specific to the stem cells and are typed and cross-matched just like a blood donation What's different about the birth tissue is that it recruits the stem cells that are already in the recipient's body and it helps to build across that matrix Can a person donate both cord blood and be a birth tissue donor? Yes, they sure can so With the sharing your goals program we believe that all donation is sacred even though we're not directly involved in organ and Kind of our tissue and donated tissue donation we support that mission and it's ingrained as something that is inherent to our culture and our community and We really want to advance all donation as a whole so who can donate and walk us through the process of a mom of three But I haven't had a C section and I'm saying that is mentioned in your information But kind of walk us through if you can absolutely so a Potential also first off I'd just like to mention that it's really the baby who's the donor because the Listen to an umbilical cord really do belong to the baby But the mother of course is responsible for giving that informed consent on behalf of the baby And we really like to look at this as kind of a shared donation between mother and baby kind of together You know sharing this with the community who's qualified any mother who has a scheduled C section can donate of course with You know, I'm sure that you were gonna ask about this a little bit later But the donation process is very similar to other donations So she would have to fill out an informed consent We would explain what the process looks like how the tissue will be used how it's gonna benefit the community and Even though we view this as a low risk, you know low high reward situation We explain everything that goes into it so that they're aware and they're making a consent based on, you know, good solid information Then we complete a donor risk assessment interview Which you know very similar to the questions that you'd be asked when you donate blood just about travel and different social history We'll review the prenatal postnatal and infant medical records a physician Well their physician will complete a physical examination of them and share that information with us and then like all tissue products a Medical director at our organization will make a final determination based on the serology results You know for infectious disease testing and all of those components that we just discussed previously to make sure that the tissue is suitable for our criteria And safe to make products for people sounds exactly like our process As you're explaining it somewhere, I mean even the jury we call it, you know, of course the jury, but the donor risk assessment interview And down to the serology testing and in the medical history and all that and even including medical, you know, our Medical director or others in other opio is making a final decision. So it's very very similar. I'm curious So, you know, we're overseen mostly for the most part a CMS is our ultimate governing body So what what regulatory bodies do you guys have to to report to that do auditing for you?
Well, the way that I look at it is it's a giant funnel and at the largest opening of the funnel is the FDA So the FDA is responsible for all regulations for tissue and biologics and pharmaceuticals as well as medical devices then further, you know, we choose to be a member of the accreditation agency of the American Association of tissue banks Very similar with that the organizations like OPOs who also do tissue functions and then, you know, lastly The last component of that is our internal criteria Which we've established to ensure that each tissue that does come through and is released will make a safe product that will meet the expectations of our patients Just so, you know, we can understand and our listeners can understand what happens with the birth tissue when people don't donate it You know, that is the thing that is the most sad to us is the fact that when a mother Choose is not to donate which most mothers don't choose not to donate. They're not extended the opportunity to donate So they're not making a conscientious decision to say no, it's just that no one ever asked But when the tissue isn't used it's just discarded as medical waste So not only is it wasted from a donation standpoint, but it's actually a cost that's incurred by the hospital system to dispose of it Which then probably the patient's family sees on the back end of billing, but is there any cost when you do donate the birth tissue? So there's no cost to the donation for the family or the mother all related expenses are handled by the organization that Facilitates the donation and for all donated tissue. This is the case and we're just in alignment with that same practice So I'm a registered donor right a mom.
I'm registered as an organ eye and tissue donor. This is separate Understanding and so when am I introduced this information? I'm assuming I'm approached if I'm a candidate Well, this is the huge opportunity that exists within birth tissue donation as well as in the shared space of all other tissue donations and Organ donation the only way that they're going to know that this exists is if they are exposed to it through the community through outreach Events that are hosted by organizations like ours or listening to this podcast where they can hear that This is a question that they need to ask their OBGYN or they need to ask the hospital where they're going to You know have their infant and bring awareness to the fact that this exists and so if we say yes This is something that we want to do is there any like time delay or anything in the process of having the baby? How does that impact?
We value the donation But what we value more than the donation is the mother and the infant's health and safety So our process doesn't involve any interruption to patient care no changes or delays in the actual process of delivering the infant and We work with those health care providers and that team that's taking care of the mother to ensure that everything we do is happening in Synchrony with their work Now where are there certain hospitals that you work within that a person would have to be a patient at a certain hospital to get your services Or to donate with you or where I guess what's the scope of your practice? Well the scope of our practice right now is limited to a few physicians who we were contracted with if a mother is delivering with one of our contracted physicians then that physician will bring up the topic of donation and Go over the initial consent form and then a member of our team will actually complete the official consent with the mother and Then we can proceed with the donation. So does this family get to know the impact of donation? I'm just thinking about our family services and we let them know the the impact how does that work with you guys?
Well, this is a huge gap in the birth tissue industry as a whole that sharing miracles is really looking to address and that's Well, just to kind of segue for a second not to avoid your question But due to federal regulations, you can't compensate someone financially for making this decision to donate So what is more impactful to someone than a financial, you know reimbursement or you know payment is knowing that what you did impacted someone's life in a positive way so sharing these stories of How someone's life was changed how they cannot walk they can return of that they love? They can see again. They can play with their kids These are the kinds of stories that in all other television are readily shared with the families who made the decision to give this altruistic gift So we are implementing these same kind of processes within the shared miracles program so that we can you know starting with just general stories From people who've received gifts, but then working through as the program builds trace abilities so that when an actual Engagement occurs from a recipient that we can share that with the donor mother Well, this is all amazing and like you said any donation we support we advocate for so far listeners who are interested or know someone who is Thinking about having children and they are interested Where is the best place for them to find information to get in contact with y'all? Well, if they just go to our website at sharing miracles calm They'll find a host of information some FAQs to address basic questions and then there's even a contact me page So if you do have Pending C section you can reach out to our organization We can see if we're in your area and if we can you know contact your physician to make that donation happen And if you're outside of our area we are excited to engage with other organizations to make the gift happen however we can Do you have how many donations made to date?
How much of an impact you guys have made? That's a good question I don't have those stats offhand, but what I can say is that to date we've had 500,000 impacted recipients We love to hear that so These are these are big numbers these are you know and keeping in mind that you know yes 500,000 is a lot But thinking about that each one of these donations, you know, that's a person who can you know see without pain You know that's a person who is walking with maybe a toad that didn't have to be amputated. I mean these people are very grateful and I know that they just want a way to reach back out to these mothers to say thank you For helping them to feel better again. Yeah, absolutely amazing story sharing miracles calm.
Thanks for your time Nelson Not a problem at all. Thank you. We all learned a lot today. We appreciate it On every episode of the gifted life we take a moment for mental health.
Yes, Sarah. What's the surprise you got for us today? We're gonna talk about how to listen better Listen hearing Listening a hearing both if you're listening while you're hearing I'll say that okay, so it's huge Communication everything we always talk about that and listening to each other so that we can understand better is you know always good to freshen up our skills So the first thing we're gonna do is we're gonna listen collaboratively. So what does that mean?
That means yes? So you're engaged exactly so you're listening you're going beyond what they're telling you you're going a little bit deeper You're collaborating in the process of communication with the intention of listening clearly So you listening to respond listening to understand that's exactly right. Yeah, you are there and present You're not thinking what am I gonna say next? I'm gonna share.
Yes, that's it's a great do Yes, so I'm kind of leading into our next one Which is we you should always be listening to learn and a lot of times when we communicate We or argue I would say you're not listening to learn and understand the other person You're listening because you've got something to say next and you have a rebuttal or a response But make sure you're hearing them and you're not just listening to respond to what you have to say It's gonna make the other person feel heard and it'll like deepen your communication with that person. That's good in theory. Yes Exactly and I think which leads to our next point which is which will make it a little bit easier is to listen for emotional connection So what does that mean that means having an open heart? So letting the words the person is saying the meaning behind words really wash into you trying to listen so that you can maybe walk Am I on somebody else's shoes?
Empathetic listening the way to do all of this is to remain present in the conversation Don't let your mind wander focus and and be totally present so that you can communicate better and hear what the other person is saying Maybe you have a topic you'd like Sarah to cover email us info at the gifted life that work In our question and answer segment today. How does something go from research trials to approved practice Joe So in these situations and what we're talking for us is medicine, right? They have the A overseas everything from food and everything in medicine drugs and even even machines equipment things like that So that's all FDA under the FDA purview so for a research trial of course you've got to present different preclinical type trials You have preclinical trials and clinical trials What you have to do in those is establish that both validity and reliability Are obtained with what you're trying to do in other words with validity or are you actually doing is it doing what it says? It's that what you're saying that it's supposed to be doing and then reliability is where does it have the consistency in If you if you take it outside of the trial Then is it gonna react the same in the general population so the trials have to be big enough so that you can clearly Establish these and I'm not the researcher not the scientist to get into all the the p-value and all that but but essentially those have to be well Established and then presented to the FDA and then they go through the approval process of if if it's if it's both valid and reliable Through a number of studies then it is and only then and it's a tough process that is it become FDA approved for you So that's why you see things in in a research phase for so long especially for us because they're trying to establish both of those So that that it's you don't want to ever take something or you know have something from a medical standpoint that it's not only about it being effective It's about it also being safe.
So it has to be clearly demonstrated that it's both safe and effective for our consumers Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. If you have a question for us You can visit lope as resource page or give us a call at 504-648-3477 In every episode of the Give the Life podcast we honor a hero today's hero is Andrea Michelle Bolt And we learn more about her from her family. My family was introduced to Loba when my sister Andrea passed away due to a head trauma from an automobile accident in 1993 There was no doubt she would become an organ donor.
It wasn't a hard decision Several months later my parents received a letter from Loba sharing that the recipients have received Andrea's organs and to thank our family for the gift of life Fast forward all these years later and I wanted to know more about Loba and any information I could get My parents have both passed at this point and the letter was nowhere to be found So with the help of Loba, I was introduced to Libby and she was able to find some information that would help me I was very lucky that she was able to find anything from so long ago She helped me so much understanding that Andrea is a hero every recipient their families and friends know her name I had never looked at it that way before a few weeks after our conversation I received a package from Libby and Loba with a medal of honor with Andrea's name engraved on it It immediately brought tears to my eyes and my heart full of love I have made a new friend in Libby and Loba I feel everyone should know the importance of being an organ donor God has placed in my heart to tell Andrea's story. I don't know exactly what that looks like yet Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the recipients But I know that when they received a part of Andrea they got something special. Thank you Libby and Loba Andrea's Medal of Honor with her photo are proudly placed on my special shelf in my home along with special memories from my parents And now we pause and say thank you to Andrea for the gift of life And that is episode 179 of The Gift of Life Yes special thanks to Nelson Ballard for coming on explaining to us just a little bit more about what this is this birth tissue that you know I had no real ideas hard to know the concepts I understand regenerative medicine to a point But he really did a great job and it's funny how much synergy there is between that group and ours And I just can't wait to see where this goes in the future You know we see the potential that's there of growth in so many different areas All right, thanks to Nelson and thank you for listening remember you can register as an organ Eye and tissue donor anytime register me dot org the best place to find us guys tell your friends But get to life dot org even listen to any of our episodes on our website or wherever you like to listen whether it's iHeartRato Apple or Google if you do listen on Apple go ahead and review and subscribe so that others can find us on social media guys Facebook where the gift of life podcast Instagram and Twitter at giftedlifepot Thanks for listening we ask that you go out and do something you wouldn't normally do to help us make life happen This is a production of LOPA or the Louisiana organ procurement agency the gift of life is hosted by Lori Steele Joey Boudreau and Sarah Blakemore our executive producer is Kirsten Heins producer is Shalom Caraway intern is Rebecca Rannam And we are recorded engineered and mixed in our Covington Louisiana studio by Troy Perez