The National Cord Blood Initiative is launching a campaign of education and awareness. Currently, cord blood is considered medical waste and disposed of accordingly – in a trash can. It is only saved and stored if the birth mother decides to store the cord blood for her own family in a private cord blood bank or donate it to a public cord blood bank.

We hope to partner with expectant mothers and their families, doctors, hospitals, and healthcare-related organizations in order to increase the supply and utilization of stem cells from cord blood for treatment of various diseases and research purposes.

Cord blood is in the umbilical cord and placenta’s blood vessels. It is rich in stem cells that are used in treatments for over 80 different diseases. Compared to bone marrow stem cells, cord blood stem cells have a longer shelf life and are “younger” cells; this means that they are more easily adaptable and the donor and recipient do not need to be a perfect match. Distinct from embryonic stem cells, cord blood stem cells have not been a source of ethical debate.