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.

Donating cord blood is medically safe. Donating poses no health risks to you or your baby. Donating does not affect your baby or your birth experience because the cord blood is collected after your baby is born. If you or your baby experience any complications during delivery, your doctor will not collect the cord blood. There is no cost for donating for public use.

The procedures we use to collect cord blood are safe and risk-free for both you and your baby. This is because the collection of cord blood is made from the placenta AFTER the baby is born, AFTER the cord is cut and AFTER the placenta has been delivered, your donataion is handled by our staff, leaving your midwife completely free to care for you and your baby. Donating your cord blood does not interfere with the management of labour and delivery, or with the aftercare of you or your baby.

During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is the lifeline between mother and baby. Once the umbilical cord is discarded after your baby's birth, you lose the chance to preserve the precious stem cells it contains that are an exact match for your child. By preserving your baby's stem cells, he or she will have a guaranteed source of perfectly matched cells in the event a life threatening illness develops and the cells need to be used to combat the disease.

No. Cord blood collection is non-invasive and painless to both the mother and baby. Cord blood collection only takes place after a successful delivery has been accomplished.

Donate the cord blood. This blood will be used to help treat an unrelated third party or for research of new treatments.

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.

It is the blood obtained from the umbilical cord at birth. The cord blood contains stem cells. Stem cells are the cells that make all of the other cells in your body, i.e., heart cells, neural cells, etc. These stem cells continue to reproduce throughout life unless they are destroyed by cancer or blood disease. If your stem cells are destroyed, you will die unless they are replaced by transplant.

First check that the hospital where you will be having your baby is one where you can donate to the NHS Cord Blood Bank. Then, if you are interested in donating your cord blood, please register by completing the on-line form. Alternatively a copy of this form is available from your midwife or by contacting us.

Your baby's cord blood is rich in stem cells, which are special cells normally found in our bone marrow. Stem cells are the master cells responsible for producing all of the mature cells in our blood and immune system. They form the white cells that fight infection, the red cells that carry oxygen, the platelets that promote clotting and the cells of our immune systems.

Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells, the building blocks to all other cells in the blood and immune system. These valuable cells can now be cryogenically preserved as a form of "biological insurance." Top

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.

After your baby is born and the umbilical cord is clamped and cut, your doctor will collect the cord blood using either a syringe or a blood bag. The procedure is safe, painless, and only takes a few minutes.

Your baby will be a perfect match for the cells, and the baby's mother should also be able to use the cells due to her carrying the child during pregnancy. The most common use for cord blood stem cells is between siblings; however, any family member who is a suitable genetic match may be able to use the stem cells if needed.

The main reason why families choose to collect and store their baby's cord blood is because each childs stem cells are genetically unique. Many parents save the cord blood stem cells of each individual child to ensure an exact match in the need of treatment. Even in the case of identical twins, each child's cord blood should be banked separately.

There are two types of banks; family banks (for one's own family's use) and public donor banks (unrelated or non-family use i.e. "public"). Every parent has the option of saving cord blood for their baby and family, while only a small number of people may be able to donate their baby's cord blood stem cells. Cord Blood Registry is the world's most experienced and trusted cord blood stem cell bank.

of people who need bone marrow transplants can not find a match. Finding a proper match is especially problematic for African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and people of mixed ethnicity. By banking your baby's stem cells, the odds of having a proper match for the baby or another family member improve.

Donating your child's cord blood or storing it for private use is a personal decision that only you can make. If you have a child with leukemia or other disease that may be treatable by transplant and you are pregnant, talk with your oncologist or pediatrician about saving your baby's cord blood. Families may feel a great deal of pressure from the promotions and advertisements they receive from the for-profit private storage cord blood banks.

If you are interested, or someone you know is interested, in donating cord blood, look for a Cord Blood Bank or collecting hospital within or close to your community. There are only a small number of cord blood banks in the United States, so donation to a local bank is not possible in many areas.

Once the donated cord blood is processed and stored at the Cord Blood Bank, it is listed on the NMDP Registry and available to patients all over the world who are searching for a match. The cord blood can be transplanted into any patient whose doctor selects the cord as a match for that patient.

Identifying information is never exchanged between a cord blood donor and cord blood transplant recipient. The identity of the cord blood donor is kept confidential at the cord blood bank.