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Cord Blood Awareness Month: What It Is and Why It Matters

Cord Blood Awareness Month: What It Is and Why It Matters
New England Cord Blood Bank
Beth Frutkin
By Beth FrutkinJun 02, 2025
Beth Frutkin
Founder and driving force behind Divine Health, Beth combines her expertise in marketing and technology to make health information accessible, engaging, and impactful. Her passion for health education stems from personal experiences and a desire to bridge the gap between science and everyday wellness, ensuring readers have the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. Through Divine Health, she curates and shares valuable insights on nutrition, fitness, mental health, medical advancements, and emerging health trends.
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Every July, Cord Blood Awareness Month brings attention to a powerful, life-saving resource that many parents may not even realize they have access to: cord blood. This observance promotes education about what cord blood is, its potential uses in medicine, and the importance of banking or donating it for future treatment options. While often discarded after birth, cord blood contains stem cells with the power to treat over 80 life-threatening diseases, making it an invaluable asset in modern medicine.

What Is Cord Blood?

Cord blood is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta after childbirth. This blood is rich in hematopoietic stem cells, the same type of cells found in bone marrow. These stem cells have the ability to develop into various types of blood and immune system cells, which is why they are often used in stem cell transplants for treating blood-related conditions.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), cord blood is a valuable source of stem cells that can be collected, frozen, and stored (cryopreserved) for future use in medical treatments (FDA, 2023).

Why Cord Blood Is Important

1. Treating Life-Threatening Diseases

Cord blood stem cells have been used to treat more than 80 different conditions, including:

  • Leukemia
  • Lymphoma
  • Sickle cell anemia
  • Aplastic anemia
  • Certain metabolic and immune disorders

According to Be The Match, a national marrow donor program, cord blood transplants are especially valuable for patients who cannot find a bone marrow match, as cord blood stem cells do not need to match as closely (Be The Match, 2023).

2. Easier Collection and Availability

Cord blood is collected painlessly after birth, posing no risk to the mother or baby. Unlike bone marrow donation, it’s a non-invasive process. The collected blood can be processed and stored in public or private banks for future transplantation needs.

Public banking makes cord blood available to anyone who may need a transplant and is matched, while private banking stores it exclusively for the donor family’s potential future use.

3. Expanding Access and Diversity

Minority populations often struggle to find bone marrow matches due to genetic diversity. Cord blood, however, requires less stringent matching, making it a crucial option for patients of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (Health Resources & Services Administration, HRSA, 2023).

4. Potential in Regenerative Medicine

Ongoing research is exploring the use of cord blood in regenerative therapies for conditions like cerebral palsy, autism, Type 1 diabetes, and spinal cord injuries. While many of these uses are still in clinical trials, early results are promising, pointing toward new frontiers in stem cell therapy (Duke University School of Medicine, 2023).

Challenges and Awareness Gaps

Despite its benefits, many families remain unaware of cord blood banking or mistakenly believe it is complicated or expensive. According to a study published in the Journal of Perinatal Education, fewer than half of expectant parents received adequate information about cord blood banking during prenatal care (JPE, 2019). This gap underscores the importance of public education during Cord Blood Awareness Month.

How to Get Involved

  • Learn and share information about cord blood and its uses.
  • Talk to your OB/GYN or midwife about cord blood collection options.
  • Consider donating to a public bank if private banking isn’t an option.
  • Support organizations advancing cord blood research and education.

Organizations like Cord Blood Registry, Be The Match, and the National Marrow Donor Program provide valuable resources for parents and healthcare professionals.

Cord Blood Awareness Month is an opportunity to highlight a medical resource with life-changing potential. Whether used today to treat serious illnesses or stored for future regenerative therapies, cord blood stem cells are a vital part of the future of medicine. By increasing awareness and encouraging donation or storage, we can expand access to lifesaving treatments and contribute to cutting-edge medical discoveries.

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