Banco Público LusoCord

About

Banco Público de Células do Cordão Umbilical (BPCCU, also known as Lusocord) is a service offered by the Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação (IPST, IP) which aims to collect, process and store donated samples of cord blood.

The BPCCU aims to offer hematopoietic progenitor cells needed in transplants used in hematological and immunological diseases among others. Once Portugal has a large bone marrow registry (Registo Nacional de Dadores de Medula Óssea, CEDACE) the main objective of the Portuguese public cord blood bank (BPCCU) is to store cord blood samples to serve people with genetic backgrounds that are underrepresented within the Portuguese population.

Currently (Sept. 2020) the Banco Público de Células do Cordão Umbilical is collecting samples in the following hospitals:

• Centro Hospitalar de São João (Porto)
• Hospital Pedro Hispano - Unidade Local de Saúde de Matosinhos (Porto)
• Maternidade Júlio Dinis - Centro Hospitalar do Porto (Porto)
• Hospital Prof. Doctor Fernando da Fonseca (Lisboa)