Cord Blood Bank
Image source: Wikipedia. Public Domain. This is a plate from Gray's Anatomy
A cord blood bank is a place that stores umbilical cord blood for future use. Both private and public cord blood banks have developed since the mid to late 1990s in response to the success of cord blood transplants in treating diseases of the blood and immune systems, such as Fanconi's anemia and leukemia. Cord blood, once seen as waste to be discarded after a birth, is now viewed as a precious resource. Since the first successful cord blood transplant was performed on a child with Fanconi's anemia in 1988, over 3,500 patients have been treated with this procedure[1], including 14 who used their own blood cells.
In 2004, 600 of those transplants took place in the United States. Following the 1988 transplant, the National Institute of Health awarded a Grant to cord blood pioneer, Dr. Pablo Rubinstein, to begin the first National Cord Blood banking Program (NYCP) at the New York Blood Center, for public placental blood storage and research[2].
Private cord blood banking also poses problems. The cost of some private banks also prevents them from being an option available to all families. Private cord blood banks are sometimes criticized for preying upon the insecurity of new parents, on the grounds that currently the chances of a child needing his or her own cord blood are very small, whereas storage fees at some private banks are high. The ability to use the cord blood may also depend on the long-term commercial viability of the enterprise.[5] Accordingly, whether cord blood banking is a worthwhile expenditure for the expectant parent depends in part upon whether the expenditure is offset by the likelihood of ultimately using the cord blood and the benefits of such use.
Links
A Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Banks, informational site by a proponent of cord blood banking
