6 / 16
TO-DO LIST FOR
UMBILICAL CORD
DONOR MOMS:
• Let your doctor or midwife know
that you want to donate your cord.
• If possible, register with LifeCord
staff.
• Make sure that all of your
registration forms have been filled
out completely:
• Maternal Demographic
Information Form
• Family Medical History
Questionnaire
• Maternal Risk Questionnaire
• Fill out your consent form.
• On the day of your delivery, re-
mind your delivery team that you
want to donate your cord.
CORD-IALLY
YOURS
The umbilical cord,
the placenta and the
blood they contain are usually discarded after birth.
But they can be lifesaving.
Have you considered donating cord blood? It’s
simple and painless; it’s free; and it will not affect
you, the baby or the birthing process.
What is cord blood?
Cord blood is the blood remaining in the umbilical
cord and placenta after a baby is born. Cord blood is
rich in blood-forming cells.
How is cord blood used?
Each year, thousands of people are diagnosed with
cancer and other life-threatening diseases, such as
leukemia or sickle cell disease. These can be treated
with a cord blood transplant. Cord blood transplants
replace diseased blood-forming cells with healthy
cells.
The treatment process is similar to a bone mar-
row transplant. Like marrow, cord blood is rich in
stem cells, which generate red blood cells to resist
disease. A cord blood unit does not have to match
a patient’s tissue type as closely as donated marrow
does. This means more patients are able to receive
transplants.
Who needs a cord blood transplant?
• Patients in need of a transplant quickly.
Cord blood units are stored and ready to use
immediately.
• Patients who have a hard time finding a matched
bone marrow donor.
• Patients from racially or ethnically diverse
communities, who often have uncommon tis-
sue types. Because cord blood does not have
to match the patient as closely as bone mar-
row, it may offer more people from diverse
racial and ethnic communities a second
chance at life.
Is there any cost for donation?
There is no cost for donating cord blood to a
public cord bank, such as LifeCord. LifeCord
incurs the cost of collecting, testing, process-
ing and storing the cord blood.
How is cord blood
donated?
Donating cord blood to a public
cord blood bank involves talking
with your doctor or midwife about your decision
to donate. If possible, register with LifeCord staff.
Upon arriving at the hospital, remind the labor and
delivery team that you are donating your umbili-
cal cord blood. After the delivery of your baby, the
blood remaining in the umbilical cord will be col-
lected and tested.
ABOUT LIFECORD
LifeCord, a program of LifeSouth
Community Blood Centers, per-
forms community and donor
education, cord blood collec-
tion and processing, distribu-
tion of the cord blood units,
and evaluation of transplant
outcomes.
Phone:
1-888-795-2707
,
ext.
41738
Email:
lifecord@
lifesouth.org
6