Umbilical cord blood banking
New devices for clamping the umbilical cord continued
to be introduced during the 1930s [1-5].  These
appear to have been used sooner after birth in many
cases, without waiting for pulsations of the cord to
cease, and residual blood in the placenta was
beginning to be collected for blood banks [7-10].

The paper by Goodall et al (1938) begins with a
viewpoint on childbirth teachings of the day:

    "The teaching that, if the blood is left in the
    placenta, placental detachment from the
    uterine wall is hastened, has never had any
    scientific appeal to us.  Consequently, it
    became a problem to be proved or disproved.  
    So at every birth, on our service, the clamp on
    the cut cord was released with the cord in a
    pendent position and the placenta was
    emptied."

Further observations made by Goodall et al are of
interest with respect to the pressure of blood left in
the placenta after clamping.  They noted that during
blood collection, the cord lay flaccid instead of quite
turgid as was the case when waiting for delivery of the
placenta with the clamp in place.  Separation of the
placenta was not appreciably changed either, in
elapsed time or completeness.  These authors
commented on another discovery they made:

    "The blood pressure in the cord was great,
    projecting the blood frequently 3 feet distant,
    and the flow kept up a surprisingly long time."

This was when they asked themselves, "Why waste all
this valuable material?"  So they set about finding
means to preserve the lost blood.  Many articles on
how to collect, store, and use placental blood
appeared within the next two years.

Now, 70 plus years later, a whole industry has arisen
to provide umbilical cord blood banking, with
widespread marketing aimed at prospective parents.  
Having the father clamp the cord has also been widely
adopted as a way to involve the father in the childbirth
process.
  1. Ryder GH (1932)
    Presentation of instruments:
    (1) A uterine packer for
    cesarean sections; (2) An
    umbilical cord clamp.
  2. Kane HF (1934) An umbilical
    cord clamp.
  3. Kahn ME (1936) An
    improved umbilical cord
    clamp.
  4. Ziegler CE (1936) A new all
    metal umbilical cord clamp.
  5. White MR. Umbilical cord
    clamp.
  6. Carrington GL (1937) The
    use of a rubber band for
    tying the umbilical cord.
  7. Goodall JR et al. (1938) An
    inexhaustible source of
    blood for transfusion and its
    preservation.
  8. Barton FE, Hearne TM
    (1939) The use of placental
    blood for transfusion.
  9. Grodberg BC, Cary EL
    (1939) A study of seventy-five
    transfusions with placental
    blood.
  10. Halbrecht J. (1939)
    Transfusion with placental
    blood.
  11. Halbrecht J (1939) Fresh
    and stored placental blood.
References
Full References
top
  1. Ryder GH. Presentation of instruments: (1) A uterine packer for cesarean
    sections; (2) An umbilical cord clamp. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1932; 23:438.
  2. Kane HF. An umbilical cord clamp. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1934; 27:623-4.
  3. Kahn ME. An improved umbilical cord clamp. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1936;
    513-4, 903.
  4. Ziegler CE. A new all metal umbilical cord clamp. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1936;
    884-6.
  5. White MR. Umbilical cord clamp. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1939; 37:345.
  6. Carrington GL. The use of a rubber band for tying the umbilical cord. Am J
    Obstet Gynecol 1937; 698.
  7. Goodall JR, Anderson FO, Altimas GT, MacPhail FL (1938) An inexhaustible
    source of blood for transfusion and its preservation.  Surgery, Gynecology
    and Obstetrics 66:176-178.
  8. Barton FE, Hearne TM (1939) The use of placental blood for transfusion.
    JAMA 113:1475-1478.
  9. Grodberg BC, Cary EL (1939) A study of seventy-five transfusions with
    placental blood.  New England Journal of Medicine 219:471-474.
  10. Halbrecht J. (1939) Transfusion with placental blood. Lancet 2:202-203.
  11. Halbrecht J (1939) Fresh and stored placental blood. Lancet 2:1263-1265.