The blood-forming cells for a cord blood or bone marrow transplant (also called a BMT) can come from the marrow of a donor or the umbilical cord blood that is collected after a baby is born. The blood-forming cells from cord blood have unique qualities that can help some patients who would otherwise be unable to have a potentially life-saving transplant.
The National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) portion of the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, Public Law 109-129, provides some funding for collecting and storing 150,000 cord blood units. These cord blood units will be available through the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program (Program) to treat patients who need a cord blood or bone marrow transplant.
Cord Blood Units for the Public
The cord blood banks receiving a contract to help add 150,000 cord blood units will:
- Encourage more cord blood donations, with special emphasis on parents of racially or ethnically diverse backgrounds.
- Collect and store cord blood units and make them available through the Program.
- Ensure the cord blood units are of high-quality and meet specified criteria such as having a certain number of blood-forming cells. Cord blood units that do not meet these criteria may be available for research studies intended to improve patient outcomes.
- Protect the rights of donating mothers by obtaining consent to donate from the mother and maintaining confidentiality of the mother and baby.
- Provide cord blood unit data to the Program's Stem Cell Therapeutic Outcomes Database contractor.
Cord Blood Units for a Brother, Sister, or Parent
Under a 3-year demonstration project being developed, NCBI cord blood banks will collect and store cord blood units for a relative who has a condition that may be treated with a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. To be included in this demonstration project, the family member must be a first-degree relative of the baby, that is, a brother, sister, or parent.
Some family and public cord blood banks currently offer a similar service and may or may not be included in this demonstration project.