Importance of matching cord blood by ethnicity.
Importance of matching cord blood by ethnicity.
Why it is important for women of all racial and ethnic groups to donate cord blood.
By the YeahBaby.com editorial staff
Race and ethnicity are one of many factors used in matching cord blood. Since cord blood tissue traits are inherited, donors and recipients of the same race are more likely to match than ones of different races. This means that a potential Caucasian donor and an Asian patient are much less likely to match than having an Asian donor and Asian patient.
Those contributing and receiving from public banks need be concerned with the diversity of cord blood within public banks. Ethnic and multi-ethnic moms can play a vital role in ensuring public banks are fully stocked with all racial varieties of cord blood. The need for diverse donations is very important for cord blood banking to be most effective.
Though the diversity of cord blood has grown significantly in recent years, many potential recipients are still unable to find a matching donor. The races having the most difficulty in finding a match include American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Black, Hawaiians, Hispanics and Other Pacific Islanders.
Since private cord blood banking allows blood relatives to share cord blood, parents using private cord blood banks need not worry about matching ethnicity.
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