This article focuses on ethical and policy questions concerning when consent may be sought for the collection and donation of cord blood. It reviews the advantages and disadvantages of alternative times for securing consent, challenges common objections to seeking consent during labor or after collection, and describes a phased consent process--a process that permits consent during early labor to the ex utero collection of cord blood followed by after-consent collection to donation. The phased consent policy attends to the unique characteristics of cord blood collection and donation, respects donors and their families, maximizes the number and diversity of cord blood units collected, preserves the relationship between providers and patients, and preserves public trust in cord blood and other types of tissue banking.