Figure 1.

Cord blood harvest following delivery. The placenta is suspended, fetal side down, in a stand lined with a clean chuck pad. The cord is brought down and gently tethered onto a work surface below. The cord is prepped with betadine and alcohol. The umbilical vein is punctured with a 17-gauge needle attached to a sterile, pre-barcoded collection bag containing 25 ml citrate phosphate dextrose anticoagulant, which is placed on a rocking scale. The cord blood flows into the bag by gravity over approximately 9 minutes. Cessation of flow is indicated by stabilization of the bag weight on the scale. After completion of the collection, the tubing is stripped and heat sealed. The cord blood collection bag is transported to the processing laboratory.