Donating your child’s cord blood to a public bank is highly beneficial in that once donated, it is available to anyone who needs it, and it costs nothing to donate. Donated cord blood can be used to treat any compatible patient, and may also be used for medical research.
So why don’t more women donate their child’s cord blood? The answer is simple. Women and their health care providers — including many physicians — are often unaware of the right to donate cord blood. Also, the decision needs to be made early in the pregnancy; donating to a public bank requires foresight. The paperwork must be completed before the birth of your child, as most hospitals are not readily equipped to collect cord blood. The expectant mother has the responsibility to bring the cord blood donation kit supplied by the public bank to the birthing site. Paperwork should be filled out before the 34th week of pregnancy to ensure that you qualify and receive the collection kit in time for your child’s birth.
For a closer look at some of the requirements for donation to a public bank, you can download samples here:
See eligibility requirements
Sample medical questionnaire
Donating cord blood to a public bank is particularly important for minority populations. Patients in need of a transplant are more likely to find a match from a donor of the same descent. Because statistically there are fewer racial minorities in the national registries, finding a match can be especially difficult.
One of the goals of the Save the Cord Foundation is to simplify the donation process, increase the number of donations, in particular minority donations, and make donating cord blood a standard of care available to every expectant mother.
If you would like more information about donating your child’s cord blood, there are two public banks in the U.S. that accept cord blood donations from anywhere in the country:
- Cryobanks International 1-800-869-8608
- LifeBankUSA 1-877-543-3226
A full list of public banks can be found here.
