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Donate Cord Blood. Share Life.

Before your baby is born, the umbilical cord is a lifeline. After birth, that lifeline can provide hope to patients with leukemia, lymphoma or other diseases.

After delivery, the umbilical cord and placenta are no longer needed and are often discarded. But the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta is rich with blood-forming cells. These healthy blood-forming cells can be collected and stored so they can be used by a patient who needs them.

Donate cord blood and share life.

Get information to help you make an informed decision

Cord blood is changing lives today – Learn how umbilical cord blood offers hope
Options for cord blood – Understand your options
Cord blood donation FAQs – Find answers to your questions

Learn how to donate

How to donate cord blood – Get a step-by-step overview of the donation process, including your role, how cord blood is collected in the hospital and what happens at the public cord blood bank
Learn if you can donate – See medical eligibility guidelines for donation
Where to donate – Find out if your hospital works with a public cord blood bank and whether there is a public bank in your area

NMDP commitment to cord blood donation

For 20 years, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has matched donors and patients to facilitate bone marrow transplants and help save lives. Today, the NMDP is committed to partnering with cord blood banks around the world to build a strong network and inventory of high-quality cord blood units available to any patient who needs a transplant.

In 2006, the NMDP was selected by the U.S. federal government to operate the nation’s Cord Blood Coordinating Center. We are also conducting a research study on cord blood transplantation and patient outcomes. (Learn more about our network of banks in the United States — listed in Where to Donate — as well as international cord blood registries.)

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