We chose the five hospitals in Manchester, London and Leicester because they have high birth rates, and are in ethnically diverse areas. At these five sites we are able to collect enough high quality cord blood to maintain a cord blood bank size that can meet the needs of patients now and in the future.

We run our cord blood bank as a public bank to help anyone around the world who needs a stem cell transplant. It doesn’t cost anything to donate cord blood to our programme.

Commercial cord blood banks charge to collect and store babies’ cord blood for private family use.

We use cord blood in ethically approved research if it doesn’t contain enough stem cells to bank for a potential transplant recipient, or where we are partnering with an external researcher carrying out research into new lifesaving therapies.

We store it until someone needs it for a transplant (or for research, if the blood doesn’t have enough stem cells to use for a transplant). We can store cord blood indefinitely, frozen in cryogenic tanks at temperatures of around -190°C.

We can’t guarantee it. We may not collect/store your cord blood because:

• your temperature has risen and you have an infection
• your membranes rupture prematurely
• there isn’t enough blood in your placenta and cord to collect
• there’s a mechanical failure with the equipment used
• other medical issues
• an accredited person may not be available to conduct the collection. For example, if lots of women who have signed up to donate give birth around the same time. Cord blood needs to be collected immediately to be effective.

It’s an easy process, and only happens after the birth and afterbirth are over and you’ve done all the hard work.

Our specially trained staff will take your baby's cord and placenta away to another room to extract the blood. You’ll barely even know they’re there. It’s totally risk- and hassle-free for mother and baby.

Anthony Nolan employs teams of dedicated collectors so that we don’t place any demands on your midwife or consultant.

Read about the exact process on our How can I donate my umbilical cord? page.

Most mothers can donate their baby's cord blood. But there are some medical conditions and lifestyle factors which mean you can’t.

Visit our Register your interest page and fill out our form.

We’re set up to collect cord blood at five hospitals in Manchester, London, and Leicester. You can only donate your cord blood if you’re booked for antenatal care at one of these hospitals.

• King's College Hospital (London)
• Saint Mary's Hospital, Oxford Road (Manchester)
• Saint Mary's Hospital, Wythenshawe (Manchester)
• Leicester Royal Infirmary
• Leicester General Hospital

You can donate at another three London hospitals via the NHS Cord Blood Bank.

Stem cells for transplants can come from adults’ blood or bone marrow, as well as from cord blood.

But cord blood transplants have lots of advantages.

Getting adult donations is a long process. If we find someone a match on our register, we have to do more tests on the potential donor, and it takes time to organise the donation and transplant.

Cord blood is banked in our cell therapy centre in Nottingham and is available immediately, for people in desperate need.

Also, donors and recipients don’t need to be an exact match, as the stem cells in cord blood aren’t so mature and can develop to suit their recipient. That means it’s easier to find matches. To find out more about cord please visit this site.