The Blood We Throw Away

Introduction

Every year, in hospitals around the world, new life arrives, and with it, a powerful biological resource that is almost always discarded. Umbilical cord blood, rich in stem cells with regenerative potential, is typically treated as medical waste. Yet for some, it holds the promise of life-changing therapies.

What if one of the most life-saving gifts at birth – the blood we routinely throw away – could instead become a foundation for the future of healthcare? This is the opportunity countries like the UAE are exploring. And they are not alone. From Singapore to the UK, models for public and hybrid cord blood banking are quietly reshaping what it means to treat, prevent, and predict disease. 

The Hidden Resource

Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells – the building blocks of blood and immune function. These stem cells have been used to treat over 80 diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma, thalassemia, and various immune disorders. Yet approximately 95% of cord blood globally is discarded1 – an enormous, missed opportunity in modern medicine. 

At the same time, the global cord blood and cell banking market is gaining momentum. In 2024, it was valued at USD 2.16 billion, and is projected to grow to USD 5.71 billion by 2032, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 12%2. This reflects a growing interest in cell therapies, regenerative medicine, and precision health, all of which increasingly rely on stored biological materials with known provenance and quality. 

But numbers alone don’t tell the story. Behind every donated sample is a family. Behind every stored unit is a child who may never need it, and another who might desperately hope for a match. 

What’s Standing in the Way

Despite the science, global collection rates remain low. Several barriers get in the way: 

• Infrastructure: Collection and storage require trained teams, sterile environments, and specialized cryogenic facilities. Many birth centers simply aren’t equipped. 
• Awareness: Many parents are never told about donation. Others don’t know the difference between private and public banking. 
• Cost: Private banking is often prohibitively expensive. Public banks rely on health systems and philanthropy. 
• Equity and access: In most countries, donation is more available in urban, high-income hospitals. That skews inventory and limits match diversity. 
• Policy and regulation: Consent frameworks, donor protections, and ethical oversight vary dramatically from country to country. 

How Countries are Approaching the Challenge

The UAE is among the countries actively investing in cord blood systems, but globally, different models are emerging, each with distinct strengths and challenges worth understanding.  

Singapore, for example, launched the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) as a non-profit public bank in 2005. Donated units are listed internationally and have helped 320 patients in Singapore and abroad receive cord blood transplants3.  

In the United Kingdom, hybrid public-private models like Anthony Nolan’s cord program operate alongside private banking options and have helped diversify match availability for ethnic minorities4. 

In India, initiatives like Jeevan Stem Cell Foundation and government-partnered programs offer cord blood services aimed at improving match access for underrepresented communities. 

In the UAE, a comprehensive biobanking infrastructure is already in place, integrating clinical, lifestyle, and public health data to support research, care delivery, and long-term population health planning.  

Taken together, these models – from Singapore’s centralized coordination, to the UK’s emphasis on diversity and hybrid flexibility, to India’s push for public access, and the UAE’s integrated national infrastructure – offer insight into what it takes to make cord blood banking work at scale. As countries around the world look to strengthen their systems, these examples point to shared principles: public trust, policy alignment, and long-term investment in accessibility and interoperability. 

Beyond Treatment

While transplantation remains the most visible use case for cord blood, its potential reaches further.

Cord blood samples, combined with genomic and lifestyle data, can fuel research into cancer, autoimmune disease, and rare disorders. In the long term, anonymized population-scale data may help predict disease trends, reveal early biomarkers, and guide public health policy.

This is where cord blood becomes more than a backup plan. It becomes a building block for precision, prevention, and prediction - the 3Ps that will define the next chapter of care.

What Needs to Happen Next

To truly harness the power of cord blood, we need more than a medical protocol. We need a global movement. That means: 

• Public education that empowers families to make informed decisions  
• Hospital partnerships that normalize donation as part of birth care 
• Clear consent frameworks that protect donor rights 
• Transparent governance that ensures samples are used ethically and fairly  
• Global registries and research access that ensure samples benefit more than one system, one city, or one name 

Where Prevention Begins

Most people don’t think of the delivery room as a place where prevention begins. But maybe we should.

Cord blood banking is not just about storing cells. It’s about how we define care, how we design systems to make the most of what we have, and how we turn brief, everyday moments into long-term public good.

If something so full of life-saving potential is being thrown away, what else might we be missing?

This feature was developed with input from Paul Downey, General Manager of the Abu Dhabi Biobank at M42.