Why Does My Race And Ethnicity Matter For Cord Blood Donation?

A new birth provides diversity.

Cord blood has several advantages for lifesaving transplantation procedures. Cells donated from cord blood don’t have to match a patient's tissue type as closely as cells donated from adult bone marrow, increasing the availability of possible matches for patients in need. In addition, cord blood recipients have less risk of developing graft versus host disease, a condition where the infused stem cells can attack the patient who receives them.

A key problem for transplantation is that minorities are an underserved group due to the lack of acceptable bone marrow matches available to them. San Diego Blood Bank's Cord Blood Bank has the unique advantage of having access to a large population of racially and ethnically diverse people, so cord blood collection in our community makes good sense. Donating to a public cord blood bank is free.