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Cord blood transplant

Consider cord blood a graft source to extend transplant availability

Cord blood is a valuable graft source for clinicians to consider early in the search process, especially when you have a patient with a low likelihood of a 10/10 related or unrelated donor. With greater matching flexibility that can overcome HLA barriers, cord blood can extend the availability of transplant to more patients, including those who are ethnically diverse.


Every search through NMDP provides patients with access to more than 41 million potential donors and nearly 811,000 cord blood units on U.S. and global registries.

If you don’t use cord blood often in your practice, we have services available to assist you in choosing the best cord blood unit for your patient and caring for your patient pre- and post-transplant.

  • Search and Testing Forms
    Access forms to request confirmatory typing of cord blood units. For a high-level overview of the cord blood unit confirmatory typing process that must be performed before a CBU is available for shipment to your transplant center, visit our Cord Blood Typing page.
  • Workup and Transplant Forms
    Access forms for cord blood shipment requests.
  • Cord blood practice guidelines
    Access the Cord Blood Practice Guidelines, which provide recommendations to support clinicians from initial patient and cord blood unit selection through infusion and post-transplant care. The guidelines are a collaborative effort between the NMDP, the ASTCT Committee on Practice Guidelines and the ASTCT Cord Blood Special Interest Group.
  • Cord blood benefits and use considerations
    Cord blood is a valuable graft source for clinicians to consider early in the search process.
  • Cord blood transplant resources & research
    Explore support options available for you and your team as you consider cord blood as a graft source for your patient. Also access journal articles related to cord blood transplantation.
  • Cord blood consultation service
    Discover how you can get direct access to an experienced cord blood transplant physician practicing in a transplant center. The physician can help you select the best CBU for your patient and guide you through any pre- and post-transplant care considerations or questions you may have.
  • Cord blood bank global search tool
    Access a listing of domestic and international cord blood banks, including identification codes; the median turnaround time of typing and shipment requests; and location of source in the Unified List Type in NMDP MatchSource. Or, explore additional resources to aid in international CBU selection and planning.
  • Cord blood shipment and infusion
    Explore information on requesting a cord blood unit for shipment and details of the process for shipment, receipt and transfusion.

Request an NMDP Cord Blood eBook

Complete the form below to request a NMDP Cord Blood eBook. You can also leave a message for one of our team members. They will be in touch with you within five business days.