Donating Your Infant’s Cord Blood

If you do not wish to store your baby's umbilical cord blood for private use, you may wish to donate it for public use. Cord blood has been used for over 3,000 patients needing stem-plant replacement therapy. Stem cells from cord blood are an alternative for the thousands of patients who cannot find a matching bone marrow donor. What happens, is that for certain blood cancers for example, the only available therapy is full body radiation to destroy cancer cells. However, this radiation also destroys blood-producing stem cells. These were formerly replaced exclusively by a bone marrow transplant, but now cord cell transplants are a new alternative. Since the need for an exact tissue matching procedure is less severe, some patients who could not find bone marrow donors can find cord blood donors. Six proteins need to match. The HLA antigens are tested for in a potential stem cell transplant, whether from bone marrow, or umbilical cord blood. Most transplants of infant cord blood match the donor in only 4 or 5 of these, yet the transplant still is not rejected. This is an especially acute problem for members of minority communities in the United States, who have a smaller pool of possible donors than the majority white race. Minority communities in need of this resource include Afro-Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders and American Indians. The national figures have shown an especially difficult time for patients of Afro-American descent in finding good bone marrow donors. The matches involve not only blood type but HLA antigens, which are proteins found in most cells of the body. This can become especially complicated in individuals of mixed racial ancestry. Over 6,000 patients have used donated cord blood worldwide. Even though this treatment is still considered an experimental treatment its use is growing in the United States, Europe and Japan. Donating umbilical cord blood is free, but not all hospitals are ready to participate in this program. Over 50,000 infants have had their cord blood donated and available for public use. Over the last couple of years, the number of parents who either have their infants cord blood saved privately, or donate it for public use has grown rapidly. Check if your hospital where the infant is to be born provides this lifesaving service. Even if you're the donated blood from your infant is not used in a patient, the blood can be used in research to find better ways to use this therapy.