A priceless donation that costs nothing
With a little bit of planning, you could change someone’s life: you could donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood to a public bank at no cost to you. Umbilical cord blood is rich with blood-forming cells*, cells that are no longer needed by your baby after delivery. But these cells may be needed by someone else — someone with a life-threatening disease like leukemia or lymphoma who needs a transplant to survive.
* The cells in cord blood are not embryonic stem cells.
How to donate cord blood to a public bank
Thank you for considering a donation of cord blood. The lifeline your baby needs now could one day serve as a lifeline for someone else. By following the steps below, you could donate to the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) Network of public cord blood banks, which is helping patients in need every day. (These banks list donated cord blood units on the Be The Match Registry®, which is operated by the NMDP.)
Before your 34th week of pregnancy
- Approximately two months before your baby is due, talk with your doctor or midwife about your decision to donate umbilical cord blood.
- Find out if your hospital collects cord blood for public donation and note the contact number of the public cord blood bank.
See Where to Donate.
- If your hospital is listed, contact the public cord blood bank that works with your hospital. The cord blood bank will confirm if you are eligible to donate and give you a consent form and health questionnaire to complete. (Keep a copy of the consent form in case you need to contact the cord blood bank at a later date.) If your hospital is not listed, see Where to Donate Cord Blood for other ways you may be able to donate cord blood.
- Donated cord blood units listed on the Be The Match Registry may be used in research related to cord blood and the use of the cord blood in transplant.
While you are in the hospital
- When you arrive at the hospital, tell the labor and delivery team you are donating umbilical cord blood. (Note: it can be helpful for the expectant parents to have another responsible adult assist with paperwork, etc.)
- While you are giving birth, everyone will be focused on you and your baby.
- After your baby is delivered:
- The umbilical cord is clamped.
- Blood from the umbilical cord and placenta is collected into a sterile bag either before or after the placenta is delivered, depending upon hospital procedures. The collected cord blood, called a cord blood unit, is given an identification number and stored temporarily. (The cord blood unit averages between 1/3 to a little over 1/2 cup or 90-150 cc.)
- Usually the day after your baby is born, you will be asked for a sample of your blood to be tested for infectious diseases. This blood is taken from you only, not your baby.
- Shortly after your baby’s birth, the cord blood unit is delivered to the public cord blood bank.
What happens at the cord blood bank?
After the cord blood unit arrives at the cord blood bank, it is:
- Checked to be sure is has enough blood-forming cells for a transplant. (If there are too few cells, the cord blood unit may be used for research related to cord blood and the use of cord blood in transplant.)
- Tested to be sure it is free from contamination.
- Tissue typed and listed on the Be The Match Registry, a listing of potential marrow donors and cord blood units available for patients in need of transplant. To protect your family’s privacy, the cord blood is identified by a number, never by name.
- Frozen in a liquid nitrogen freezer and stored.
Once it is stored, it is available for a transplant if a patient needs it. Doctors search among the donated cord blood units and the bone marrow donors on the Be The Match Registry to find a match when their patient needs a transplant.
Still have questions?
See the Cord Blood FAQs. Or call us. In the United States, call toll-free: 1 (800) MARROW2 (1-800-627-7692). Outside the United States, call (612) 627-5800 and once connected, dial 0 for the operator.