Every year about 9,000 patients are diagnosed with diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cell disorders that may be treated and cured by the transplantation of stem cells into the bone marrow. Doctors look for donors among the patient's family, friends and bone marrow registries to find a compatible match. Only 25 percent of those in need will find a compatible match, even fewer among minority (non-Caucasian) patients.

Approximately 20 years ago, doctors first successfully used umbilical cord blood for bone marrow transplant and since then, its use has increased along with our knowledge. To date, there are 70 blood diseases and disorders that may be treated with cord blood. At the birth of your baby, you have the choice of storing this blood for your family's possible use, donating the blood to a public cord bank so that anyone in need may use it, or discarding it.

UMass Memorial is proud to offer new mothers the opportunity to help another by donating their baby's cord blood. Through our partnership with Cryobanks International Inc., we established the only cord blood donation program in New England, educating families about their options and encouraging the donation of cord blood to Cryobanks' public bank.

To date, five units of cord blood collected at UMass Memorial have been identified as potentially lifesaving matches for two adults and a teenager with leukemia, as well as a 7-year-old in Italy suffering from a blood disorder.

Cord blood collection is easy, not harmful to mother or baby, and there is no cost to you or your family. After the donation is collected by your doctor or midwife, the cord unit is "typed" and entered into a database similar to that used to match donated organs to patients. When a patient is in need and matches a cord unit, the cord blood can be shipped where it is needed, all over the world.

Learn more about the value of cord blood on the WCVB News web site.