(NC) — Canadians of various ethnic backgrounds who need lifesaving stem cell transplants may soon find their agonizing wait for a donor getting shorter.

Canadian Blood Services is set to start building Canada's first national public cord blood bank this September meaning Canadians of various ethnic backgrounds, including Aboriginal Canadians, will stand a greater chance of finding a match here at home rather than having to wait for international donors to be a match.

Currently in Canada, about 75 percent of all patients who need stem cell transplants must look outside their family for a match.

“Cord blood provides options for minority patients whose genetic markers are less common and who have difficulty finding a matching adult donor,” says Dr. Donna Wall, director of the Manitoba Blood and Marrow Transplant program. “If we are able to add to the worldwide cord blood database, we will increase the chances of Canadian patients finding a match and helping international patients increase their chances as well.”

Canadian Blood Services' national public cord blood bank is part of the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, which is a national program that recruits healthy, unrelated, volunteer blood stem cell donors, conducts searches for patients who need an unrelated blood stem cell transplant and coordinates the collection and delivery of blood stem cells when a match is found.

Blood from the placenta and umbilical cord, which connects a baby to its mother in the womb, is a rich source of stem cells that can be used to regenerate certain cells and treat a variety of life-threatening illnesses including cancer.

Canadian Blood Services has launched a $12.5 million fundraising campaign to help build the bank while the provinces and territories, except Quebec, which operates its own public cord blood bank, have committed the balance of the $48 million project costs.

There is more information about the campaign and the national public cord blood bank at www.campaignforcanadians.ca and www.blood.ca/cordblood.