Cord blood - the blood from the placenta and umbilical cord - contains hematopoietic stem cells used in established treatments for blood cancers, marrow failure, immune deficiencies, and some metabolic disorders. Parents may donate to public banks, making units available to unrelated patients and research, or choose private storage for potential family use. Collection is painless and follows regulatory and accreditation standards. Emerging uses in neurological and autoimmune conditions are under clinical investigation but not yet standard therapy.
What is cord blood?
Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after a baby is born. It contains hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells that can reconstitute bone marrow and immune systems. Cord tissue also contains other cell types under study, but standard clinical use focuses on the cord blood stem cells.
Why donate cord blood?
Donating cord blood to a public bank makes that unit available to any compatible patient who needs a stem cell transplant. Public donation supports treatments for people with blood cancers, bone marrow failure, inherited immune disorders, and certain metabolic diseases. Public banks also make units available for approved research and clinical trials.
Choosing public donation helps patients who lack a matched adult donor. Unlike bone-marrow transplants, cord blood units tolerate a wider degree of genetic mismatch, which can increase access for patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Private banking vs public donation
Parents can choose to store cord blood in a private (family) bank for potential future use by the child or family members, or donate it to a public bank. Private banking involves an upfront processing fee and ongoing storage costs; private use is relatively uncommon because many conditions treated by stem cells are inherited and therefore present in the stored cord blood itself. Public donation is free to the donor and prioritizes community benefit.
How cord blood is used today
Clinically, cord blood stem cells are established therapy for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in disorders such as leukemia, certain lymphomas, bone marrow failure syndromes, and some inherited immune and metabolic disorders. Researchers are also running clinical trials testing cord blood or cord-derived cells for neurological conditions (for example, cerebral palsy), autoimmune disease, and other indications, but these applications remain experimental and are not standard of care.
The donation process and safety
Collecting cord blood is safe and painless for mother and baby. After delivery, clinicians or trained staff collect blood from the cord and placenta into a sterile bag. Units intended for public banking are screened, tested, and processed to preserve stem cells for long-term cryopreservation. Banks follow regulatory and accreditation standards; in the U.S. this includes FDA oversight and common accrediting organizations such as AABB or FACT.
Making the decision
Deciding whether to donate or privately bank cord blood is a personal choice. Consider: the likelihood your family would need an autologous unit, the costs of private storage, and the public-good benefits of donation. Talk with your obstetric provider and, if interested in donation, contact local public banks or hospital programs during pregnancy to confirm eligibility and procedures.