Web links: Umbilical cord blood

The central umbilical cord blood dilemma is between donating a newborn's cord blood for others' use and banking it for the family's possible future therapy. Those who save it will very likely never need it, pay a handsome price for storage, and deprive others of it. Those who donate it, though, don't see the benefit if a family member later on needs a bone marrow transplant. Both sides neglect to mention the third option, one that a sizable majority of parents-to-be end up choosing due to lack of knowledge. Most every precious ounce of umbilical cord blood, loaded with hematopoietic stem cells, is discarded along with the placenta. No one benefits from this. The extra work to collect it could save a stranger's life.

AABB's Accredited Cord Blood Facilities: http://www.aabb.org/Content/Accreditation/Cord_Blood/AABB_Accredited_Cord_Blood_Facilities/
There are only 25 public or private cord blood banks accredited by the AABB, formerly the American Association of Blood Banks.

AAP: Cord Blood Banking For Future Transplantation Not Recommended: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/archives/julcord.htm
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend private cord blood banking unless the newborn has a full-blooded older sibling who is or will be in need of a marrow or stem cell transplant.

American Bone Marrow Donor Registry: http://www.abmdr.org/
Those who receive cord blood donations will probably also need bone marrow donations.

American Pregnancy Association's Cord Blood Banking Page: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/cordbloodbanking.html
An informational page from the nonprofit APA, which offers education for pregnant women.

Banking Your Newborn's Cord Blood: http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/pregnancy/cord_blood.html
From Kids Health.com's/ parents page.

Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide: http://www.bmdw.org/index.php?id=statistics_cordblood/
Statistical analysis of cord blood donations over the years.

The Bone Marrow Foundation: http://www.bonemarrow.org/
Dedicated to the more painful, but renewable, resource of donating stem cells via bone marrow.

Cord Blood Donation:http://bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov/CORD/index.html
An informative page from the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration.

The Cord Blood Donor Foundation: http://www.cordblooddonor.org/
The CBDF is a non-profit raising awareness for cord blood donation and research.

The Cord Blood Society of Canada: http://www.cordbloodsociety.com/
A Canadian non-profit dedicated to umbilical cord blood research.

Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1187705026.pdf
A discussion (in PDF format) from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on the benefits of cord blood compared to bone marrow.

FACT's Accredited Cord Blood Bank Search: http://www.factwebsite.org/FacilitySearch.aspx?SearchType=Netcord/FACT/
A global searchable database from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy.

Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.pregnancy-info.net/cord_blood.html
From http://PregnancyInfo.com/ a site run by and for new and expectant mothers.

International Cord Blood Society: http://www.cordblood.org/
The ICBS is a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of stem cell research, with an emphasis on cord blood stem cells.

Percutaneous Umbilical Cord Blood Sampling:http:// http://pennhealth.com/health_info/pregnancy/000229.htm
A detailed, illustrated walkthrough of a PUBS test, done in utero, from the University of Pennsylvania Health System's Pregnancy Health Center.

Viacord: http://www.viacord.com/
A private blood bank, which unlike other private banks does research on cord blood as well. (Not using the private blood, though.)

Where To Donate Cord Blood: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/How_to_Donate_Cord_Blood/CB_Participating_Hospitals/nmdp_cord_blood_hospitals.pl/
From http://Marrow.org/ the National Marrow Donor Program.