Cord Blood Bank
The umbilical cord saves lives
Why become a cord donor?
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Because it is an altruistic act and you help selflessly.
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Becoming a donor is an act of generosity, as you are helping to significantly improve the lives of others, especially children and adults with very serious illnesses.
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The blood circulating in the umbilical cord has very special unique characteristics: it contains stem cells, capable of generating blood cells to treat very serious diseases such as leukemia, immunodeficiencies, and other types of cancer.
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Cord blood can also contribute to advancements in regenerative medicine, offering new hopes in the treatment of various eye or skin diseases.
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Cord blood allows to promote medical research and the development of advanced therapies, to be able to have ad hoc treatments in very serious situations.
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Thanks to your donation, you will be helping to save lives
How to become a cord donor
Requirements to be a donor
You must have had a normal pregnancy and be of legal age at the time of birth.
You must have healthy lifestyle habits.
There must be no history of bloodborne infectious diseases.
Become a umbilical cord blood donor
Do you want to save lives with a simple gesture? Become an umbilical cord blood donor! It's easy and safe. You just need to be of legal age at the time of delivery and follow healthy lifestyle habits. Join us and help give hope to many people.
Do you want to donate?Where can the donation be made?
The donation of umbilical cord blood can be made at maternity hospitals that are part of the Concordia program and have the authorization of the Department of Health. The healthcare personnel have received specific training to collect cord blood and are familiar with the procedure to ensure its conservation with the highest quality.
The quality
The Concordia program is part of the Cord Blood Association and has consecutive certifications over 15 years through national (CAT) and international (FACT-NetCord) cellular therapy accreditation centers, which guarantee that the units of cord blood undergo rigorous testing to ensure the quality of the product.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I store my child's cord blood for autologous use (i.e. for potential use in the same child) in our country?
Currently, there are only two authorised private banks where you can store your child's umbilical cord blood. The following conditions must always be met:
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The place where your child is born must have specific authorisation to extract cord blood; if not, you will need to submit a request to the OCATT.
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There must be an agreement or arrangement between the maternity ward where your child is born and the bank where your child's cord blood is stored.
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According to regulations (Royal Decree Law 9/2014, of July 4), all units of umbilical cord blood stored in these banks are available to the Spanish Bone Marrow Donor Registry (REDMO) and can be used to treat any patient in need of a cord blood transplant who is compatible with one of the stored units.
Can I take my child's cord blood out of Spain?
According to Royal Decree Law 9/2014, of July 4, you can take your child's umbilical cord blood out of our country if you wish to. However, the following circumstances must be met:
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The place where your child is born must have specific authorisation to extract cord blood.
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The cord blood bank you send your child's unit to must be authorised for storage activities.
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There must be an agreement or arrangement between the maternity ward where your child is born and the bank where your child's cord blood is stored.
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Also, if the bank where you send your child's cord blood is located outside the European Union, you must request permission from the Spanish National Transplant Organization to export your child's cord blood unit out of our country.
When do I need to request permission from the National Transplant Organization to take cord blood out of our country for autologous use (i.e. to store it for potential use in the same child) and how do I submit the request?
When your child's unit of umbilical cord blood needs to be sent for storage in a cord blood bank outside the European Union, the maternity ward must submit a request to the director of the National Transplant Organization to authorize the export of the unit from our country. For this purpose, along with the request, you will need to submit:
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A certification or document proving that the cord blood bank where you need to send your child's cord blood unit for storage is authorised for this activity.
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A certification or document proving the existence of an agreement or arrangement between the maternity ward where your child is born and the bank where your child's cord blood is stored.
Is there any benefit to storing umbilical cord blood for autologous use (i.e. storing it for potential use in the same child)?
Many experts in the field of medicine, especially in hematopoietic progenitor transplantation, have spoken out against autologous storage of umbilical cord blood (UCB) due to its limited recognised utility. Additionally, resolutions from the National Transplant Organization of our country, as well as from the European Commission and the Council of Europe, express opposition or at least significant doubts regarding these banks that store autologous UCB.
Not all extracted cords are viable for later use, as up to 20% of cords do not have the appropriate cellularity. Add to this another percentage that may become contaminated during the process or may deteriorate during transport. Up to 40% of donated cord blood units are ultimately unusable for transplants.
Furthermore, and most importantly, the likelihood that UCB units donated by the mother after childbirth and stored will eventually be used for the child is extremely low. This is because almost all indications for transplantation in childhood are due to diseases with a genetic or congenital basis, which may be present in cord cells and, once diagnosed, render them useless for potential transplantation to the child or any other patient.
So far, only three cases of transplantation of these cords have been recorded worldwide (always for acquired diseases, not genetic) out of the more than 40,000 transplants performed globally. If one of these children whose cord has been stored needs a transplant for leukemia or a congenital disease, they would need to resort to a cord from a public bank.
If there is a medical indication established by a specialist to store the cord for another family member with a specific disease (directed donation), this can be done in a public bank with the same guarantees as when donations are made by third parties, but stored for their own family.
In Spain, if someone needs a hematopoietic progenitor transplant, the Spanish Bone Marrow Donor Registry (REDMO) is responsible for searching for a suitable bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood unit, both nationally and internationally, and offers the same possibilities as if this search were initiated from the United States or any other European country.