The potential for stem cell research to revolutionize health care, combined with concerns over ethical issues surrounding the harvesting of stem cells, have garnered much attention from researchers, lobbyists and the media. Cord blood banking companies have capitalized on this attention to encourage new parents to bank blood from their newborns' umbilical cord as a future source of potentially life-saving stem cells.
Access and Availability
Parents who choose to bank their child's cord blood are afforded the security of knowing that their child will have a ready source of hematopoietic stem cells should they need them. Hematopoietic stem cells can develop into any blood cell type. They can be used as an alternative to bone marrow in treating cancerous and noncancerous diseases in both children and adults. The "Journal of Law and Health" notes that a global birth rate of about 100 million new babies per year makes cord blood the world's richest source of available stem cells.
Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Another advantage of cord blood banking is that hematopoietic stem cells from cord blood have less risk of causing graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD, than other sources of stem cells. GVHD is a transplantation complication that causes the white blood cells of the stem cell donor to attack the stem cell recipient's body tissues. The immaturity of cord blood stem cells makes them better able to tolerate slight mismatches between donor and recipient. The National Institutes of Health's Stem Cell Information website states that cord blood transplants have been found to cause fewer cases of graft-versus-host disease.
Virus Transmission
Stem cell transplantation from banked cord blood is less likely to result in the transmission of viral infections, according to Dr. B. Anthony Armson of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. Diseases such as cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, which can be found in the bone marrow of older donors, are rarely present in the cord blood of a newborn.
Ease of Collection
In comparison to the painful and time-consuming process required for bone marrow collection, the harvesting of cord blood is painless and simple. No harm is done to the mother or child, and a product that formerly was considered medical waste is instead used as a potentially life-saving resource.
References
- "Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada"; Umbilical Cord Blood Banking: Implications for Perinatal Care Providers; B. Anthony Armson; March 2005
- Stem Cell Information: Hematopoietic Stem Cells
- "Journal of Law and Health"; The Neglect of the Umbilical Cord: Ohio's Failure to Adequately Promote Banking of Umbillical Cord Blood Stem Cells and the Need for New Legislation; Shannon Folger; 2008
- American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists: ACOG Revises Opinion on Cord Blood Banking
