In 2001, The J.P. McCarthy Cord Stem Cell Bank at the Karmanos Cancer Institute was founded as a public, non-profit stem cell bank with over 1,200 umbilical cord blood units in its inventory.

The bank was funding from The J.P. McCarthy Fund and the Carls Foundation and is one of only a few internationally recognized cord stem cell banks affiliated with the National Marrow Donor Program.

Karmanos stores and distributes donated umbilical cord blood that becomes a readily available source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplant in children and adults with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell disease or other life-threatening conditions.