The Truth about Cord Blood

Posted by Brenda Lane Feb 20, 2008

Have you considered banking your baby's umbilical cord blood? Chances are high that you are being inundated with literature that tells you it is a wise health investment to guarantee that stem cells will be available to treat your child or a sibling later in life. While it is true that cord blood is a rich source of stem cells, cord blood storage companies are charging exhorbitant amounts of money with very little likelihood that you will ever be able to use the cord blood to treat your own child.

New recommendations published in the February 2008 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology suggest that patients question if your care provider has any financial interests in these cord blood storage companies.

In addition, ACOG's Genetics department has discovered that there is only about a 1 in 2700 chance that you will use your baby's stem cells for treatment, and there is also no information about how long cord blood can safely be stored.

Parents should be cautioned that cord blood banking is a huge business that makes big promises without much research or support from the medical community.

Brenda