Our Cord Blood Commitment

Today, about 20% of patients needing a transplant to replace their blood-forming cells receive cord blood that was donated to a public cord blood bank. As the nation’s Cord Blood Coordinating Center, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is committed to umbilical cord blood donation and transplantation.

We have a strong network of 22 public cord blood banks around the world and an inventory of more than 90,000 cord blood units.
We are constantly striving to increase the number of donated cord blood units that are made available to any patient who needs a transplant.
And now, through the Related Donor Cord Blood Program, we are helping eligible families benefit from related donation.

Supporting patients through federal legislation

The NMDP was selected by the U.S. government to operate the nation’s Cord Blood Coordinating Center as mandated in the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (Stem Cell Act 2005). In this role, we encourage expectant parents to donate umbilical cord blood; educate patients, the public and medical professionals about transplantation; and work with doctors and researchers to continually improve cord blood transplantation.

We are also administering the Related Donor Cord Blood Program, a three-year demonstration project authorized by the Stem Cell Act 2005 and developed jointly by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the NMDP. Through this Program, a baby’s umbilical cord blood can be collected after birth and may be used to treat a biological sibling or parent with a diagnosed disease.

Donating cord blood helps more patients

Through our network of public cord blood banks and cooperative registries, more than 400,000 high-quality cord blood units are available to any patient who needs a transplant.

Even with a strong network, more donors of diverse heritage are needed to help patients find matches. We work closely with our network to encourage more expectant parents—especially those from a diverse racial or ethnic background—to donate cord blood.

Helping families through the Related Donor Cord Blood Program

For eligible families in the United States, there will be no charge to collect and store their baby’s umbilical cord blood unit through the Related Donor Cord Blood Program. When the stored unit is used for transplant, a fee will be charged to the patient’s insurance company.

Who is eligible?

A family’s eligibility is based on the following criteria for a biological sibling or parent of any age.

For a sibling

A biological sibling has been diagnosed with a disease treatable by a related cord blood transplant.
The new baby does not have the same disease as the biological sibling. (This is determined after the birth of the baby.)
The affected sibling and the new baby have the same biological parents.

For a parent

The affected biological parent is enrolled in a clinical or research trial that would accept a haploidentical, related allogeneic cord blood unit as a treatment option.

How to enroll?

As early as possible in a pregnancy, discuss eligibility for the Related Donor Cord Blood Program or insurance questions with a case manager at the NMDP Office of Patient Advocacy by e-mail: patientinfo@nmdp.org, or by calling: 1 (888) 999-6743, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time.

If your family is eligible, you will then be directed to contact a participating cord blood bank. The cord blood bank determines final eligibility for this program.