How cord blood donation works
We accept cord blood at four locations across Canada:
- The Ottawa Hospital (General campus) in Ottawa, Ontario
- The William Osler Health System’s Brampton Civic Hospital in Brampton, Ontario
- The Alberta Health Services’ Lois Hole Hospital for Women in Edmonton, Alberta
- The BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia
Despite not being in other locations the cord blood units collected at these hospitals are building Canada's national inventory for any patient in need, in Canada or around the world.
Donate your baby’s cord blood in four easy steps
Get informed.
Read about the donation process, important registration information, and understand the FAQs before proceeding to register.
Complete your registration and consent to donate.
If you are not able to register online, download the registration/consent package or ask your healthcare provider. If you require translation services, please email cordblood@blood.ca.
Collecting cord blood.
We do not interfere with the normal process of labor or delivery. It is important to inform your healthcare providers, when you arrive at the hospital, that you are donating to the public cord blood bank.
Your baby’s cord blood will be collected by a Canadian Blood Services’ Cord Blood Bank team member via the ex utero method (after your placenta/umbilical cord are delivered). It is collected from the umbilical cord using a sterile needle and bag.
We test a small amount of cord blood at the hospital to ensure it has enough cells for a patient requiring a stem cell transplant. If it does not qualify, with your consent, your cord blood can be donated for research instead of being discarded.
Final step.
If your cord blood unit qualifies, a member of the cord blood collection team will visit you before you leave the hospital to collect additional information including:
- A second consent
- A blood test (only from mother) and
- A health assessment questionnaire
- Review of medical chart (baby and mother)
Your consent and blood test must be received before being discharged from the hospital or the cord blood collected will be discarded. If you do not meet with someone form the cord blood collection team, that means the cord blood unit did not meet the minimum cell count needed.
Delayed cord clamping
If you decide to delay the cord clamping, speak with your physician or midwife prior to delivery and let them know that you would also like to donate your cord blood. Timing of umbilical cord clamping is a joint decision between the family and the health care provider.
A minimum of 60 seconds delay before clamping of the umbilical cord is standard care for full term healthy babies. Longer delays will reduce the amount of cord blood available for donation, however we will continue to collect the cord blood with your consent. Donating does not affect your birth plan in any way.