Cord Blood Awareness Month: What Public Cord Blood Donation Means
Cord blood that would otherwise be thrown away can become a matched, life-saving transplant for a patient searching for a donor.
Every July, hospitals, blood banks, and nonprofits mark Cord Blood Awareness Month — an annual observance that invites expectant parents to learn about a resource most people never think about: the blood left in a baby's umbilical cord after birth. It is a quiet, hopeful topic, and it connects directly to the same world of transplants and registries that the Jada Bascom Foundation exists to support.
So what actually is cord blood, and why does a whole month get set aside for it? Here is a plain-language guide to what it is, how public donation works, who it can help, and how it fits alongside the bone marrow and stem cell registries.
What is cord blood?
After a baby is born and the umbilical cord is clamped and cut, a small amount of blood remains inside the cord and placenta. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), that leftover cord blood is rich in blood-forming stem cells — the same kind of hematopoietic (blood-forming) cells found in bone marrow.
Those cells matter because they can rebuild a person's blood and immune system. For patients with certain cancers and blood disorders, a transplant of healthy blood-forming cells can be part of their treatment. The cord blood that carries them is collected only after birth, so donating it poses no risk to the mother or the baby.
Here is the part that surprises most families: unless a parent chooses to save or donate it, this cord blood is usually discarded as medical waste. Awareness Month exists largely to make sure parents at least know they have a choice.
Public donation vs. private storage: what is the difference?
When it comes to keeping cord blood, HRSA describes a few different paths, and they are not the same thing.
Public cord blood donation means giving your baby's cord blood to a public bank, where it becomes available to any patient in need of a matching transplant. Per HRSA, public donation is free to families — the public bank covers the cost of collecting, testing, and storing the unit. In return, the donated cord blood is *not* reserved for your own family; it joins a shared inventory that doctors and transplant centers can search on behalf of any matched patient.
Private (family) cord blood banking is different. A family pays a private bank to store their baby's cord blood for their own potential future use. This typically involves an up-front collection fee plus ongoing annual storage fees. It is a personal decision that some families make, and it is worth discussing with a doctor or midwife.
There is also a third path: some parents donate cord blood for research, helping scientists study new therapies. HRSA's cord blood pages walk through each of these options in more detail.
The key distinction for Awareness Month is simple. Public donation is the route that can help a *stranger* — someone, somewhere, searching for a match today.
Who can cord blood help?
According to NMDP (formerly Be The Match), umbilical cord blood can be used in transplants to treat a wide range of serious conditions — NMDP notes it can be used to help treat more than 75 diseases, including blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as inherited blood and immune-system disorders like sickle cell disease.
To be clear, a cord blood transplant is a serious medical procedure, and it is one tool among many that a patient's care team may consider. No transplant is a guarantee. But for some patients, a donated cord blood unit is the match that makes treatment possible.
Why do diverse cord blood units matter?
A patient's odds of finding a well-matched donor are strongly tied to ancestry. That is because the markers used in matching — called HLA (human leukocyte antigen) markers — are inherited, and patients are most likely to match someone of similar ethnic background.
This is where cord blood offers something special. NMDP explains that the young, "naive" stem cells in cord blood are more tolerant of HLA differences than adult marrow cells, which can allow for greater matching flexibility. That flexibility, combined with a more ethnically diverse cord blood inventory, extends the possibility of transplant to more patients — including those from backgrounds that have historically been underrepresented on registries. NMDP has reported that a majority of the cord blood units on its registry are ethnically diverse.
In other words: a more diverse pool of donated cord blood means more patients, from more communities, have a real chance of finding a match.
How does this connect to marrow and stem cell registries?
Cord blood is one of three main sources of blood-forming cells used in transplants — the others being bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) donated by adults. All three feed into the same mission: getting a matched, life-saving transplant to a patient who needs one.
The Jada Bascom Foundation does not collect, store, or bank cord blood, and we are not a registry. We are a referrer — our role is to help people around the world understand their options and find the right official registry or program for their country. Cord blood donation, like joining an adult donor registry, is one more way that ordinary people can give a patient a fighting chance.
If you are expecting a baby and want to explore public cord blood donation, the best first step is to talk with your doctor or midwife early in your pregnancy, since not every hospital participates and arrangements often need to be made in advance. HRSA's Donate Cord Blood resources are an excellent, unbiased place to learn more.
And if you would rather join the adult donor registry — or you are not sure which path fits you — we can help you find the right official program for where you live.
This Cord Blood Awareness Month, take one small step to learn your options. Find your country's donor registry and discover how you can help patients searching for a match.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cord Blood Awareness Month a federal holiday?
No. Cord Blood Awareness Month is an annual observance recognized each July across the health care and blood-banking community, including organizations such as AABB. It is an awareness campaign, not a federal holiday, and its main goal is to help expectant parents understand their cord blood options.
What is cord blood?
Cord blood is the blood that remains in a baby's umbilical cord and placenta after birth, once the cord is clamped and cut. According to HRSA, it is rich in blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells that can rebuild a patient's blood and immune system, which is why it can be used in some transplants.
Does public cord blood donation cost anything?
According to HRSA, donating cord blood to a public bank is free for families — the public bank covers the costs of collecting, testing, and storing the unit. Private (family) cord blood banking, by contrast, typically charges a collection fee plus ongoing annual storage fees.
What is the difference between public donation and private cord blood banking?
With public donation, the cord blood joins a shared inventory available to any matching patient and is not saved for your own family. With private banking, a family pays to store the cord blood for their own potential future use. HRSA describes both options, as well as donating cord blood for research.
What can cord blood be used to treat?
NMDP (formerly Be The Match) reports that umbilical cord blood can be used in transplants to help treat more than 75 diseases, including blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma and inherited disorders such as sickle cell disease. A transplant is a serious medical procedure and is only one part of a patient's care plan.
Does the Jada Bascom Foundation collect or bank cord blood?
No. The Jada Bascom Foundation does not collect, store, bank, or type cord blood, and it is not a registry. We are a referrer that helps people worldwide understand their options and find the right official registry or donation program for their country.
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