Why is there a special need for women of minority racial and ethnic groups to donate their babys cord blood?
The tissue types that are used to match a cord blood unit with a recipient are inherited like skin and eye color. Thus, patients are most likely to find a matched cord blood unit from within their own ethnic group. There are not enough cord blood units that have been collected from people in ethnic and racial minority groups. More cord blood units are needed to provide better chances for all patients to find a matched cord blood unit.
