Debate On Storage And Usage Of Cord Blood
Related News: Cord Blood Stem CellsAs we well know, umbilical cord blood has shown to provide benefits now, contrary to what has been considered for such a long time .. medical waste. The issue these days is that there is not enough information out there and most women (mothers) don't know about the benefits of its preservation or don't know where to donate.
The families that want to save the umbilical cord blood have two options: pay companies to store the stem cells for possible use in the future or give them to public banks, where they can be used now by people in need of stem cell transplants. Many these days usually go with the first option though.
The lack of awareness and the explosive growth in private cord storage is preventing the progress of nonprofit public banks' effort to increase donations and diversify the national donor pool. The public banks collect cord blood free of charge. The only catch is that the expectant mother must make arrangements before her due date. The cord blood is most often used to treat young leukemia patients who don't have matching DNA from a brother or sister.
The National Marrow Donor Program, a coordinated network of 14 public banks that provides a registry and search database for both cord blood and bone marrow, is working to have 150,000 blood units available in the U.S. by 2007. Currently about 43,000 units are available.
Managers from the public and private cord blood banks and doctors like Sharon Bolster Mills, Mercedes Walton, Patrick Stiff, as well as patients talked about the importance of storing cord blood and the ways of doing it.
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Posted on September 2, 2005 08:04 PM