How to donate cord blood

Cord blood banking is the process by which the blood from the placenta and umbilical cord is preserved after the birth of your baby. The blood is frozen and put into storage. The blood and stem cells can then be retrieved later if someone becomes sick and needs a bone marrow transplant. Deciding on banking your baby's cord blood could save a life. You can choose a private bank and store it for yourself (at a significant cost) or you can donate it the umbilical cord for free to a public cord blood bank and help someone else.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A pregnant woman
• A Doctor
• Cord Blood Bank

1. Talk to your doctor about your interest in donating cord blood. He/She will most likely have informational pamphlets for you and can explain the details of the process. The hospital where you will be giving birth will also have information on the public cord banks they work with.

2. Once you have expressed your interest in donating the cord blood, you'll be screened to make sure you are eligible. You'll also have to fill out various questionnaires and paperwork at this time. Your doctor will make the proper notes and preparations for delivery day.

3. When you get to the hospital, make sure you let the delivery staff aware that you are donating the umbilical cord. They should have all the preparations ready but it doesn't hurt to double check.

4. After you give birth, the umbilical cord and blood is clamped and sent off for testing. They'll test for a variety of diseases. When cleared, the umbilical cord blood is sent to the public cord bank for storage. The blood is cataloged in the cord blood registry and is available for research or a transplant for a patient that needs a life-saving transfusion.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to tell the hospital staff that you are donating the umbilical cord when you go into labor.
• You may or may not be able to access your donation in the future. Talk to your doctor about the public cord bank you'll be donating to.
• You should never have to pay anything to donate cord blood.

[cbrmom]

on 5/2/2009 Just an added note about the coupon codes, I also have a coupon code, M1998, which can be used for a $250 discount when you enroll with Cord Blood Registry. Just to be clear, the discount code is given to CBR moms who have already banked their children's blood and allows a CBR mom to receive a free year of storage.

[momandwife]

on 2/4/2009 Coupon code M9999 saves you $250 when you enroll with Cord Blood Registry. This coupon does not expire and can be used multiple times by different moms. More details about the coupon can be found at www.cbr-coupon.com.

Enroll online at www.cordblood.com