- Q: Should I store my baby's cord blood in a family bank or donate it for public use?
A: Donating cord blood for public use or storing it for your family's private use is a personal decision. You can find detailed information in these FAQs that can help you make an informed decision.
- Q: Who can use donated cord blood?
A: Thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases need a transplant and depend on the Be The Match Registry® for an unrelated matching bone marrow donor or umbilical cord blood unit.
If you donate cord blood to a public bank, the cord blood can be transplanted into any patient whose doctor selects the cord blood unit as the best match for that patient. The donated cord blood is not reserved for your family.
Related Links:
Options for Umbilical Cord Blood, The Need for Donors, Learning about Bone Marrow or Cord Blood Transplants
- Q: If I donate umbilical cord blood is it always stored?
A: We are committed to building an inventory of high-quality cord blood units to provide the best possible result for patients. When donated cord blood meets these standards for transplant, it will be stored and listed on the Be The Match Registry®:
- The cord blood unit must be large enough (contain enough blood-forming cells) for a transplant. If there are too few cells, the cord blood may be used for research related to cord blood and the use of cord blood in transplants.
- The mother's health history must meet eligibility guidelines.
- The cord blood unit and the mother's blood sample must show no signs of infection or other medical concerns.
Approximately 50% of the cord blood units that are collected are not stored for transplantation. The most common reason a cord blood unit cannot be stored is because the cord blood unit does not contain enough blood-forming cells.
If the cord blood unit is suitable for transplant, it is tissue typed, then frozen and stored in a liquid nitrogen freezer. The cord blood unit is then listed on the Be The Match Registry, where it is included in our research study and available to any searching patient in need.
Related links:
How to Donate Cord Blood
- Q: If someone in my family needed a transplant, when would cord blood stored in a family bank by my family be used versus unrelated cord blood donated to a public bank?
A: If you stored your baby's cord blood in a family bank and someone in your family needed a transplant, your doctor would consider a number of factors:
- If the baby who provided the umbilical cord blood needs the transplant:
- The doctor will decide if a transplant using that person's own cells (an autologous transplant) is the best choice. Many diseases that are treated with transplant may already be present in the baby's cord blood. For some diseases, a transplant using cells donated from a relative or unrelated donor (allogeneic transplant) is the best choice.
- If the sibling of the baby who provided the umbilical cord blood needs a transplant:
- The doctor would first test to see if the sibling matches the brother or sister who needs the transplant. Because tissue types are inherited from parents, there is a 25% chance that siblings will match each other. (For more details, see the patient information on HLA matching).
- If the siblings match: the doctor will decide between the cord blood stored in the private bank or a bone marrow donation from the sibling; each has advantages and disadvantages.
- If the siblings do not match: the doctor can can work with the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) to search for an unrelated adult bone marrow donor or a donated cord blood unit that closely matches the patient from our Be The Match Registry and other registries around the world.
- If your child's cord blood stored in a family bank is the best choice, the doctor would check to be sure that the cord blood unit is large enough (has enough blood-forming cells) and is free from disease and infection. If these standards are not met, then the doctor will consider the other options above.
For more information, see the American Academy of Pediatrics Frequently Asked Questions about Cord Blood Banking: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jan07cordbloodfaq.htm.
- Q: Why are racially and ethnically diverse donors urgently needed?
A: For a successful transplant, the tissue type of a bone marrow donor or a cord blood unit needs to match the patient's as closely as possible. Tissue types are inherited, so patients are more likely to match someone who shares their racial or ethnic heritage. And patients from racially or ethnically diverse communities can have a harder time finding a match.
Because cord blood does not need to match a patient as closely as marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, cord blood transplants are a good option for patients with uncommon tissue types who do not have a closely matched adult donor. More than 40 percent of minority patients who received a transplant used cord blood.
Many more patients could be helped if cord blood is donated, especially from these communities:
- Black and African American
- American Indian and Alaska Native
- Asian
- Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander
- Hispanic and Latino
Related Links:
Cord Blood is Changing Lives Today, The Need for Donors
- Q: Where can I donate umbilical cord blood?
A: Check our list of participating hospitals to see if your hospital works with a public cord blood bank to collect cord blood for public donation. Because of funding limitations, it is not possible to donate cord blood at every hospital at this time.
If there is no cord blood bank in your area, you can contact one of our network banks that collect donations from hospitals not affiliated with a cord blood bank. Learn more.
- Q: When should I contact the cord blood bank in my area about donating umbilical cord blood?
A: If you're interested in donating, ideally you should contact the cord blood bank by the 34th week of pregnancy.
Related Links:
How to Donate Cord Blood
- Q: What if I decide a month, or two weeks, or even the day of my delivery that I want to donate?
A: We recommend that if you are interested in donating, you contact the cord blood bank by your 34th week of pregnancy. However, some cord blood banks have on-site collection staff who can accommodate last-minute collections, so it's best to contact the cord blood bank, as they may be able to help.
- Q: Can I donate if my hospital is not on the list?
A: If your delivering hospital is not included in our list of participating hospitals and public cord blood banks, you can check a few other options:
- You can contact one of our network banks that collect donations from hospitals not affiliated with a cord blood bank. Limited donations of this kind are accepted and your obstetrician or midwife must agree to do the collection. Learn more.
- Consider other ways to give hope to patients in need: Contribute money or join the Be The Match Registry as an adult bone marrow donor.
- Q: Does it cost me anything to donate cord blood?
A: There is no cost to you when you donate cord blood to a public cord blood bank. Public cord blood banks cover the costs of collecting, processing and storing cord blood units.
Related Links:
Options for Umbilical Cord Blood
- Q: Will donating my baby's umbilical cord blood change my delivery experience?
A: Donating cord blood will not change your labor or delivery in any way. During delivery, all the focus is on you and your baby. No blood is taken from your baby, only from the cord and placenta after the baby is born.
Related Links:
How to Donate Cord Blood
- Q: Can I donate if I'm having twins?
A: Our public cord blood banks cannot accept donations if you are having twins. Tissue types are used to match a cord blood unit to a patient, and there could be a possibility of mixing or confusing the tissue types of the two umbilical cords.
- Q: How is my privacy and that of my baby protected after I have donated to a public cord blood bank?
A: The cord blood bank keeps the mother's name confidential, and it protects the privacy of the family. Names are not shared with any patient or transplant center. The baby's cord blood is identified by a number, never by name.
- Q: Are cord blood transplant patients ever given information about their donor?
A: No. Identifying information is never exchanged between a cord blood donor and a cord blood transplant recipient.
- Q: If I donate umbilical cord blood, does that mean my child and I will be on the Be The Match Registry?
A: You and your baby will not be listed on the Be The Match Registry. Only the cord blood unit will be listed. The collected cord blood unit will be given a number at the hospital. This is how it is identified on the Be The Match Registry and at the public cord blood bank. No name is associated with it.