Umbilical Cord Blood Donation

Your Baby Could Help Save a Life

The blood that remains in your baby's umbilical cord contains valuable cells that can be used for bone marrow transplant.

Many people are in need of a bone marrow transplant to treat diseases such as lymphoma or leukemia, and finding a match is not always possible. Patients who are unable to find a match in their families or communities may find a match with cord blood and with it, a potential cure.

Donating Cord Blood to a Public Bank

You can donate your baby's blood to a public bank for those in need. Through a partnership with Lifeforce Cryobanks' Cord for Life program, BIDMC is a site for public banking collections, adding to the national inventory of cord blood units available to all in need.

Donation is free and easy.
Collecting the blood is safe for mother and baby.
When your baby is born, the umbilical cord is cut as part of the birth process, and the blood remaining in the umbilical cord can be collected and stored for anyone who may need it.
When not collected, cord blood is typically discarded with the placenta (afterbirth) as waste.
At BIDMC, cord donation is available Sunday night through Friday evening.

Learn More about Cord Blood Banking

BeTheMatch.org
Cord Blood Banking FAQs
Contact us at cordblood@bidmc.org with additional questions

Consent Forms

Who Can Donate Cord Blood?

Almost everyone can donate cord blood and all ethnic groups are needed. To donate to the public bank, you must:

Be 18 years or older.
Be having a single baby (not available for twins and other multiples).
Have no history of hepatitis B and C, or HIV.
Have no history of cancer or organ transplant.
Have had no tattoos, unsterile piercings or acupuncture in the 12 months prior to delivery.

These requirements follow national standards. There are other medical conditions and travel that may exclude one from donating to a public bank, and will be reviewed with your consent.

How Can I Donate Cord Blood?

Bring your completed consent form to your doctor's office. Your doctor will sign it and send it for review. If you are expecting your baby within a month or so, you may also bring the completed consent form with you to the hospital. Tell your nurse or doctor you wish to donate when you arrive. Consent forms may also be completed on the Labor & Delivery floor at BIDMC.

Things to Know

Your labor and delivery are not affected by cord blood donation until after the birth of your baby.
Once the umbilical cord is cut, the cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord with a needle.
A sample of the mother's blood is also required and may be collected before or after the birth.
Once collected, the unit is weighed and if enough blood has been collected, the cord blood unit and mother's blood samples will be sent to the Lifeforce Cryobanks via overnight mail.
To date, thousands of patients have received cord blood for bone marrow transplant and the number is growing.

Private Cord Blood Storage

Families can also choose to store umbilical cord blood privately for their family's possible use. There is a separate cost associated with private cord blood storage. The decision to store privately or donate is a personal one for each family.

Professional organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and the American Society of Bone Marrow Transplant recommend public donation, as families rarely need their stored cord blood. Private storage is potentially beneficial for families in which a family member is in need of a bone marrow donor.