Cord Blood Dilemma for Parents

More and more parents are opting to store their newborn's umbilical cord blood.

Some are motivated by a desire to make the umbilical cord blood stem cells immediately available for research and/or treatment of those with disorders for whom cord blood therapy is a workable alternative.

Others are motivated by the hope that scientific progress will eventually render umbilical cord stem cells a means by which to cure their child's future ailments.

In the meantime, private cord blood banking (which allows for the saving of cord blood for eventual specific individual use) is available only for those who can afford the often hefty price tag. Parents without significant means are left only with public banking as an option.

This is beginning to look like a classic case of the haves and have-nots. The poor cannot afford to take action to help their specific children in the future, yet they may become the source of cord blood that helps those with quality medical care in the present. Meanwhile, the wealthy can draw off the cord blood supplies of the poor today while privately banking the umbilical cord blood of their offspring for the future.

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