How can I donate my umbilical cord?

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Anthony Nolan is the charity that saves
the life of people with blood cancer,

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like Leukemia or Lymphoma.

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Everyday we use our stem cells register,
to match our remarkable donors to

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people they've never met

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who're in need of a life saving transplant,
as well as recruiting donors to the register.

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Anthony Nolan also run an umbilical cord
blood collection too.

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We collect umbilical cords and placentas

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which are otherwise thrown away,
extract the blood from them,

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and then gather those fantastic lifesaving
stem cells from the blood.

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These stem cells are stored at our bank in
Nottingham and can be very useful indeed.

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In the next few minutes, we'll explain what's
involved when you donate your cord.

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Your pregnant, and
about to create a life.

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Donating your umbilical means you can also
have a chance to save a life.

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Our program operates in a few key hospitals.
So check this website.

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To see where you can donate your cord.

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Why is umbilical cord blood,
so fantastic?

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A patient in need of transplant, needs a donor
who closely matches their tissue type.

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It is often a huge challenge to find
a matching donor.

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Especially if the patient is from an ethnic
minority.

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but the stem cells in cord blood,
are adaptable.

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So they don't have to be as perfectly matched
to patient as stem cells from an adult donor.

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This means there are more flexible options for
patients with mix-raced or uncommon tissue types.

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Also, as the cord stem cells are stored in our
cord blood bank,

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they are available straight away,
unlike when the donor is an adult.

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Where things can sometimes take
weeks to arrange.

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Time that a sick patient might not have.

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You're having your baby and
we know it's the most important thing in the world.

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We promise you that the collection
of your umbilical cord

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won't interfere with your birth plan in the slightest.
When you go in to have your baby,

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the maternity staff will see a sticker like this,

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which shows that you've consented
to donate your cord.

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They'll let our cord collection team know
that you've arrived, your midwife or consultant

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are entirely focused on you and your baby,
while you're in labor.

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We do not get in the way,
while you're giving birth.

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Once you've had your baby, the cord will be
cut and the placenta will be delivered.

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Once all this has happened, our dedicated cord
collector will come into the room,

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and collect cord and placenta from your midwife.
And that's that.

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They will take the placenta and umbilical
cord into a separate area,

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most women say that
they don't notice this happening

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as they have more exciting things to focus on.

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We do our utmost to collect cords from
all of those who generously agreed to donate.

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But we should say here, we can't 100% guarantee
that we'll be able to collect your donation,

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Maternity wards can be very busy places,

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and we only have a small but
very good team to collect them all.

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So it all depends on whether all our collectors
are busy attending other collections,

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it's really unlikely that we will not be able
to collect though.

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We really do want your donation.

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So, if you're interested in doing
something amazing,

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please talk to your midwife about
umbilical cord donation.

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You will also information about donating
in the antenatal reception area.

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Talk to your partner or your family,
about your decision to donate.

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Once you've decided to donate, get in touch
with us by filling our pre-consent form online.

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Or using one of the flyers that you will find
in your booking-in pack from the hospital.

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Once we hear from you,
we'll arrange a time to talk.

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In order to be able to collect your
umbilical cord and placenta,

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we need your full legal consent.
Ask as many questions as you'd like,

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to make sure you're happy about donating.
Please be assured that it's free to donate.

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We'll need to ask you some medical questions.
Once you've given us your consent,

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we'll give you a big sticker like this,
to put on your maternity note.

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You will decide your birth plan with
your midwife,

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and we'll fit in with whatever you decide.

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As long as you're giving birth at a hospital
where we collect, we can collect your cord.

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However, if you don't manage to go through
all the steps of consent before

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you come in to have your baby,

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we can still sort that out when you come on
to the labor ward to give birth.

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As long as you're comfortable talking to us,
and it's before you're in established labor,

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we can do all the paperwork with you then.

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After you've given birth, and have had a good rest,
we'll come in to say a big thank you.

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We will usually need to take a blood sample
from you and we'll try to coordinate this

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with the other blood you're giving.

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About six months later, we'll get
in touch with you to say thank you again.

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And check on the health of your baby.

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So, what happens to your umbilical cord
and placenta?

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As soon as we take the placenta and
umbilical cord from the midwife,

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we take it into a separate are and extract
the blood from the placenta and cord, and store it

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in a special bag.
We weight the sample, label it and refrigerate it.

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Everyday the cord blood we collect
at each hospital

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is picked-up in a dedicated courier run and
taken to our cord blood bank in Nottingham.

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Once it gets to our bank,
our scientists analyse the blood

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and see how many live saving stem cells
there are in it.

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Based on the number of stem cells contains,

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we'll decide if the sample can be
used in a lifesaving transplant,

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or whether it's best used as part of our
research or by our research partners.

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Even if it's used in research, it will still go on
to potentially save lives.

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As researchers are looking into how stem cells
can help treat conditions like Parkinsons,

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diabetes, Alzheimer
and many others illnesses.

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As well as how to improve
the success of stem cells transplants.

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If you're sample is kept for a transplant,
it will be tested to find out what its tissue type is.

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And they will go into one of our
cryogenic freezers.

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It can stay here for more than
25 years.

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70% of all people who need
a stem cells transplant

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will need a match from outside their family,
so one day the stem cells in your cord blood,

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might well be the best chance,
for someone with blood cancer.

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The healthy stem cells are the things
for the person who will receive your donation,

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that for whatever reason, their body
can't generate for themselves.

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Those cells in your umbilical cord, will kick-start
their system into action.

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And start a recovery from a very vulnerable state.

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It's amazing, you will have potentially
saved a life.

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On the date you give birth to a new life,

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your donation could save another in the future.

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Isn't that great?