The term cord blood donation basically means donating the umbilical cord blood of your newborn baby to a public cord blood bank for someone who is in need of it due to the presence of stem cells in it.

These stem cells are quite invaluable as they are potentially lifesaving resources. These stem cells can be used for the treatment of cancers, immunodeficiency, metabolic disorders, and inherited disorders like sickle cell anemia.

If you have already decided to donate the cord blood then you have two choices: the public cord blood banks and the private cord blood banks. The difference lies in the fact that the blood would be available to anyone in need if donated to a public cord blood bank while in a private cord blood bank it would be available for the family’s personal use.

There would be no problem donating the blood to a public cord blood bank since it is absolutely free, safe and painless. Most of the public cord blood banks are nonprofit organizations. However all of these banks must meet the stringent quality standards. In case the cord blood meets all the requirements then it would be stored at the public cord blood bank and listed on the National Marrow Donor Program’s ‘Be the Match Registry’ and put to use by the transplant physicians for the treatment of the patients.

In fact keeping in mind the precious value of the publicly donated cord blood, the Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005. It provides federal funds as well as created the National Cord Blood inventory. A public cord bank network was also established and made it feasible for the physicians to get cord blood units for the patients.
Storing the cord blood at a private cord blood bank would be a costlier option and thus a public cord blood bank would be a better alternative. Many public cord blood banks are not available, however ‘The Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2005’ would be passed to increase the number of public cord blood banks.

If you really wish to donate the cord blood then you must not delay. In fact most of the public cord blood banks start functioning with the expectant moms before 34 weeks of pregnancy. You can find a listing of a number of hospitals which collect cord blood for the purpose of public cord donation. After you have found out the place to donate your baby’s cord blood, the public blood bank would tell you to fill a consent form and a health questionnaire.

The blood is also screened to check for any infectious disease. There might be certain conditions in which the mothers are not allowed to donate the cord blood. Some of them are: multiple pregnancy, birth of premature baby, mother is suffering from cancer or medication-dependent diabetes and others.

After this, the cord blood is tested in order to meet the requirements. If it passes the tests, it is stored in the liquid nitrogen freezer and can be used in the future. Thus public cord blood banks offer you a good way to use the precious cord blood in a better way.

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