MANSFIELD — Natalie Van Riper’s delivery was what she expected for her son Tatum.
She scheduled her cesarean section for Sept. 29 and welcomed her third child to the world at OhioHealth Mansfield. She also donated her placenta to Lifeline of Ohio, potentially helping to create 25 healing grafts for people recovering from surgeries.
“I wouldn’t have even known that I had done it if I didn’t sign paperwork,” Van Riper said. “I mean, why wouldn’t I donate it? I’m really not losing anything and it can potentially help a lot of different people.”
OhioHealth Mansfield introduced the placenta donation program on Sept. 1. It allows expectant mothers with scheduled C-section deliveries to donate the placenta, umbilical cord and amniotic membrane after their babies are born.
The program currently only accepts C-section placentas, as vaginal birth placentas can be exposed to bacteria on the mother’s skin.
Van Riper learned about the program through her sister Jerrica Lapointe, a nurse at OhioHealth Mansfield.
“She told me about it after my check-up about a week before he was born,” Van Riper said. “And she helped prep me for the surgery.”
The Loudonville native who now lives in Richland County said she wanted to donate her placenta to help others.
“My oldest, Judson, was a micro preemie because of placenta issues,” Van Riper said. “He’s almost 5 now and doing great.
“I loved the idea that donating my placenta with Tatum could help so many people. I hope I can learn who it helped later so I can share that with him when he’s older.”
Van Riper said she would recommend eligible patients donate their placentas.
“I would do it 100 times over again,” she said.
OhioHealth one of multiple placenta donation partners
The grafts developed from placentas can be used for procedures involving eye, oral and spine surgery. They can also promote the healing of burns, wounds and pressure ulcers.
Lifeline of Ohio collects the donated placentas on-site and ships them to a processing facility.
Jennifer Smith, chief operating officer of Lifeline of Ohio, said it can take weeks to test, treat and process donated placentas according to strict medical and ethical guidelines.
“The amniotic membranes are transformed into healing grafts that bring hope, healing and improved quality of life to many patients,” she said.
Smith said approximately 620 healing grafts have been created from 25 placentas collected at OhioHealth Mansfield.
“We’re really excited to think about the potential this program has going into the rest of 2024,” Smith said. “There’s no change to the mom’s birth plan, the mom and baby leave healthy and we can create so many healing grafts from it.”
Smith said Lifeline of Ohio is trying to increase its reach in OB/GYN offices to introduce patients to the program before delivery.
“That way, we can go through the normal donation questions of consent, medical history, travel history and that sort of thing,” she said.
There are currently 20 placenta donation partners including OhioHealth Mansfield, Avita Health System Galion and Ontario and Knox Community Hospital. A full list of partners is online.
Smith said the Lifeline team is working to connect recipients and donors with a way to contact each other.
“With other organ and tissue donations, Lifeline is an intermediary if a recipient wants to send a letter to the donor family, or if a donor wants to introduce themselves and why they donated,” she said.
Parents who donate their placentas receive thank-you packages that include onesies, wipes and other baby items.
Loudonville woman donates two placentas from twins
Allison Reidenbach, a surgical ICU nurse at OhioHealth Mansfield, donated placentas from her new twins, Piper and Blakely.
Her husband, Adam Reidenbach, donated part of his liver to her brother Eric in 2015.
“For me, it was an easy decision, and he’s a lot better than what he was when he was sick,” Adam said.
Allison said she thought placenta donation was easier than Adam’s liver donation.
“It takes like a year to regrow a liver, and with the placenta, it’s going to get thrown away otherwise,” she said.
“We were there three nights and donating didn’t add any time to when we were in the hospital, I just had to answer some questions about medical history.”
Allison said the twins, born Dec. 12, are healthy and getting plenty of attention from their parents and older sisters, Peyton and Finley.
“They helped us name them and can go get diapers or help feed,” Allison said.
Reidenbach said she knew she would have a C-section about two weeks before the twins were born.
“I didn’t know about the placenta donation until about an hour before my appointment,” she said. “But it was easy, it helps people and I would definitely recommend it.”
According to Lifeline of Ohio, more than 1,600 placentas have been donated statewide since the program’s inception in 2019. Those interested can learn more at lifelineofohio.org.