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Home > Health Information

Umbilical Cord Blood Donation

The blood that remains in your baby’s umbilical cord and placenta after birth is referred to as cord blood. It is considered by many physicians and professionals in medical research to be an excellent source for stem cells, which can be used to treat a growing number of diseases as well as blood and immune disorders. In 2004, Illinois amended the Hospital Licensing Act to offer families the opportunity to donate their baby’s cord blood for public or private collection and storage.

Internet Resources

MedlinePlus: Stem Cells
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stemcells.html)
Developed by the National Library of Medicine specifically for consumers, this site is a portal for both government-sponsored and privately developed health information for the lay public.

National Marrow Donor Program
(http://www.marrow.org/index.html)
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) helps people who need a lifesaving marrow or blood cell transplant. They connect patients, donors, and physicians to transplant resources. Search the term “cord blood” to find a large amount of information on all aspects of this topic.

ViaCord and Cord Blood Registry (CBR)
(http://www.viacord.com/ and http://www.cordblood.com/)
ViaCord is a scientific collection, processing, and storage company that also performs research and offers education in this field of science. ViaCord is the only cord blood banking company that is also a recognized leader in cord blood research. CBR has been processing and storing cord blood since 1992 and was the location of the first family cord blood bank in the world.

Books

• Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Longe JL, ed. 2006. Available in print at the Health Learning Center or electronically at http://www.nmh.org/nmh/hlc/main.htm.
• Umbilical-Cord Stem-Cell Therapy: A Gift of Healing from Healthy Newborns. Steenblock, D. 2006.

Journal Articles

• “Cord blood banking for potential future transplantation”. Pediatrics. 2007 Jan;119(1):165-70.PMID: 17200285
• “Umbilical Cord Blood Research: Current and Future Perspectives.” Cell Transplantation. 16(2):151–158. Newcomb JDS. 2007.
• “Why Cord Blood?” Human Immunology. 67(6):398–404. Rubinstein P. June 2006.

Contact Us

For more information, please contact the Alberto Culver Women’s Health Learning Center at 312-472-3640 or email us at womenshealthcenter@nmh.org.

Review Date: 06/08