The first meeting of the Committee on Establishing a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Program was scheduled for June 2-3, 2004 in Washington, DC. At the meeting, the committee was exposed to the background of cord blood transplantation and banking. Representatives from the sponsoring congressional offices, HRSA, government agencies (the DoD Marrow Program, NHLBI, and the FDA), the New York Blood Center and the National Marrow Donor Program, a clinician, and professional organizations (AABB, America’s Blood Centers, and American Society for Hematology) briefed the committee.