By Ethan Benedicto
Walking for any purpose is commendable, from mental health to physical endurance, or, for the Inner Wheel, to shine awareness on the versatility of Cord Blood.
On Friday, 28 March, from 10am onwards, members of the Inner Wheel Narre Warren and other neighbouring branches from as far as Philip Island, will be taking on the Wilson Botanic Garden’s 2-kilometre walk to raise awareness.
The walk, which Dianne Barlow, the Narre Warren branch’s cord blood research coordinator, dubbed as the ‘2 for 10’ walk, is where a $10 donation goes into a pool for a research grant.
According to her, it does more than just raise funds, but also informs others of what cord blood research really is about.
At the same time, Barlow, and she is sure to many in the Inner Wheel, these walks and donations, “are our way of giving back to the community”.
“During the months of March and April we do these walks, and the donations go directly to the research of the Inner Wheel Foundation,” she said.
“The money is all added up, and usually every year we give three research grants; every year there’s a medical board who scrutinises them.
“But we’ve been doing the walk for some time, anyone can take part and we actually encourage people to join us.”
Starting at the information centre in the garden, members of the Inner Wheel, accompanied by roughly 10 researchers, led by Dr Tayla Penny, from the Hudson Insitute and Ritchie Centre will also be along for the walk.
“It’s not necessarily just for us you know, as we were walking around last year, people stopped us and said, ‘can you tell me what this is about?’.
“And so we were able to tell them about cord blood research, so it’s about getting out there really,” Barlow said.
The Inner Wheel, nationwide, has been a strong advocate for cord blood research ever since 2001, where the research committee selects specific projects or scientists/researchers to fund.
This happens often in collaboration with major universities, such as now, with the Hudson Institute and the Ritchie Centre working with Monash University.
“I think doing this is really important, important because the more people know about it, the more that they will hopefully seek out information,” Barlow said.
“Maybe even they could stumble upon a stall at a local shopping centre for cord blood research, and they’ll know exactly what’s happening.”
Cord blood research relates to the remains of the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth, which contains hematopoietic cells that can regenerate the blood and immune system.
These stem cells are then used in treating a wide range of diseases, such as leukemia, bone marrow failure syndromes, cerebral palsy, immune system disorders and more.
“My husband and I have been retired for 20 years, and we feel that this the way to give back to the people,” Barlow said.
“It’s also one way that we and other elderlies can feel useful, because let’s face it, a lot of older people feel as if they have no purpose.
“And I think you can find that at the very least, aside from the research, many ladies in the Inner Wheel would say that it gives them that purpose – it’s doing something good for society.”
On the day, once the walk is finished, there will be a morning tea and some refreshments, giving participants ample time to speak with the researchers and learn more about what cord blood is.
Barlow, the other Inner Wheel members and many other participants are eager to throw on their red shirts for a morning of walking for awareness.
“We live in a wonderful country, but with this, we can do more,” she said.
