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Background/aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of certain maternal, fetal, and umbilical cord blood unit factors on storage and/or discard incidence of collected cord blood units from perinatal medicine patients. Materials and methods: A total of 273 cord blood units collected between January 2011 and December 2016 in the Division of Perinatology of Hacettepe University Hospital were evaluated retrospectively in this study. Results: Of the collected cord blood units, 53.8% (147/273) were stored. Infant birth weight, cord blood unit volume, total nucleated cell count, and CD34+ cell count were statistically significantly different between the eligible and discarded cord blood unit groups (P < 0.001 for all). No cord blood units were discarded owing to contamination-related issues. The mean gestational age for pregnant women whose umbilical cord blood was stored was 36.6 ± 1.0 weeks. Conclusion: Infant birth weight, cord blood unit volume, total nucleated cell count, and CD34+ cell count were significantly different between the eligible and discarded cord blood unit groups. The low rate of specimen storage was most likely because of the unique characteristics of perinatal medicine patients. Physicians should choose appropriate donors for cord blood collection to increase the rate of cord blood utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]