| ACOG Committee Opinion No. 348, November 2006 A statement published in November 2006 by the Committee on Obstetric Practice, of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, provides the following technique for obtaining a sample of umbilical cord blood: "Immediately after the delivery of the neonate, a segment of umbilical cord should be double-clamped, divided, and placed on the delivery table pending assignment of the 5-minute Apgar score." [1, p1321] The same instruction is given by Turrentine (2003), a book used by physicians preparing for board certification exams [2]. Both the ACOG committee and Turrentine state that the cord sample can be discarded if the 5-minute Apgar score is satisfactory, and the infant appears stable and vigorous.
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