About the Saint Luke's Cord Blood Program
The Saint Luke’s Cord Blood program in association with the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank is committed to quality collection, characterization and storage of umbilical cord blood for the purpose of providing an alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells for stem cell transplantation and gene therapy.  Collections are processed in a fully operational, dedicated laboratory at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City which is FACT accredited and registered by the FDA.  The cells are transported to the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank which is accredited by the AABB and CAP, CMS licensed and registered with the FDA.  Since its inception, St. Louis Cord Blood bank has worked with over 60,000 donor families and have banked over 15,000 cord blood units.  Patients who will be delivering at Saint Luke’s Hospital and are interested in donating their baby’s cord blood should speak with their OB / GYN several months before delivery.    Patients must be pre-registered for the program and Saint Luke’s Hospital physician offices will have the necessary forms.  Of course, Mom and baby’s health are always of the highest importance – so in some instances the collection won’t be possible.  This decision will be made by the patient’s OB/GYN.  Saint Luke’s Cord Blood Program will be offered initially at Saint Luke’s Hospital (4401 Wornall Kansas City, Missouri location only.)  Expansion to other Saint Luke’s Health System hospitals is planned in the future.