Cord blood programs

Cord blood donation and cord blood transplants are encouraged by national or regional cord blood programs that want to sensitize and promote the idea of cord blood banking for the patients suffering from life-threatening diseases.

Cord blood collection and storage became widely known and used after 1995 after informative campaigns and public sensitizing to the subject of cord blood transplants that began in 1988. Cord blood programs inform about modern techniques of saving lives and improving the health of some patients who suffer from different types of cancer, of genetic and blood disorders or heart diseases. Another aspect that represents the preoccupation of cord blood programs is sensitizing expectant mothers for umbilical cord blood donation. The programs inform about all needed steps for this matter or for collecting, processing and banking the cord blood stem cells for the family's use.

National and regional cord blood programs inform about the medical institutions, hospitals and banks that participate in the collection, process and storage of umbilical cord blood for personal or public use. Cord blood programs may answer to some frequently asked questions related to the significance and role of cord blood stem cells, questions about donation and all the steps that have to be made. Cord blood programs may also give information about the steps of collecting and processing cord blood, questions about the storage and the costs for the families in need of this unique solution. News from the scientific and technique areas may be provided by the same cord blood programs that try to be in touch with all modifications and technological progress, which is made in studying cord blood stem cells and their importance and utility.

Cord blood programs are usually developed by companies that develop other health programs, offering besides the usual medical assistance possibilities of collecting and banking umbilical cord blood for possible future use. These cord blood programs not only enrich medical and technical profiles of the company, but also raise their rating and reputation. If the cord blood program belongs to a private cord blood bank, then it should also inform about licenses and accreditations, about the experience and the number of transplants, about the technology and practices.

Many cord blood programs have specific aims: to encourage cord blood donation (cord blood donation program), to inform and encourage cord blood transplants (umbilical cord blood transplant program). Other cord blood programs provide information about the hospitals where cord blood collection is possible and about cord blood banks, providing verified information about the reputation of the existent cord blood banks.