Since its inception, the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation has facilitated bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients around the world suffering from life-threatening illnesses. Now, Gift of Life’s newest life-saving initiative - its Umbilical Cord Blood Program - promises to save even more lives than ever before. Cord blood transplantation holds untold promise in providing a viable treatment option for patients who cannot find matched bone marrow or blood stem cell donors.

Since tissue type is inherited, like eye or hair color, a patient’s best chance of finding a genetically matched donor lies with those of similar ethno-geographic ancestry. However, the worldwide donor pool is not adequately representative of all ethnic groups. Since 1991, Gift of Life’s targeted recruitment strategy in Jewish communities has significantly improved the chances that donors will be found for Jewish patients who need transplants.

Gift of Life's Umbilical Cord Blood Program is the first such initiative in North America devoted to recruitment from families of Jewish heritage. The program, which will further improve the ethnic diversity of the international donor pool and ultimately lead to more life-saving transplants, is among Gift of Life’s most rapidly growing initiatives. Since the launch of the program, thousands of expectant mothers have enrolled.

Cord blood remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth, and has a unique tissue type. Although it is usually discarded, cord blood is extremely valuable because it is rich in blood forming stem cells. After a baby's birth, this blood can be collected and frozen to save a life in the future. Since the cord blood is collected after the baby has been born and the umbilical cord has been clamped and cut, the collection is painless, easy and safe for both mother and baby. The normal birthing process is not altered in any way. 

In January 2007, Gift of Life was thrilled to publish the tissue types of over 500 of its cord blood units to the international registry, Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide, which serves as a collaborative clearinghouse of the volunteer stem cell donors and cord blood units from 58 stem cell donor registries and 38 cord blood banks from 43 countries. By making these cord blood units publicly available for the first time, Gift of Life has taken a crucial step towards realizing its dream of saving lives with this exciting technology. In addition to the BMDW publication, Gift of Life will soon make its units available via the European Marrow Donor Information System (EMDIS), and is filing an application with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to become a member cord blood bank. Gift of Life also intends to apply for accreditation with the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapies (FACT) in 2007.

Visit Gift of Life's Video Library to watch a brief presentation about the Umbilical Cord Blood Program by clicking here.

Click here to request more information about the Umbilical Cord Blood Program.