Umbilical Cord Blood Program
Umbilical Cord Blood Program at the University of Utah
Expectant parents are faced with a number of important decisions before their baby is born. One of the important decisions a new parent can make is whether or not to bank their baby’s cord blood. Cord blood is currently being used to treat over 70 diseases, and research has shown even more potential. In the United States 97% of cord blood is discarded as medical waste because of lack of education and awareness about cord blood and limited donation opportunities. The Cord Blood Program at the University of Utah is the only public banking program in Utah. Since its inception in 2007, the Program has served thousands of parents and is currently working to expand to other hospitals around the state. Current collection sites include the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
The mission of the Cord Blood Program is to educate parents about cord blood donation, collect high quality cord blood units, and make them available for transplantation. The Program partners with StemCyte in Covina, California and is a member of the National Marrow Donor Program, the largest public cord blood registry in the United States. There is no cost to participate in public cord blood banking.
To find out more about cord blood, please contact the Cord Blood Program at 801-585-6134 or click here for the Frequently Asked Questions page.
