Commercial opportunists encourage new parents to have their baby's cord blood stored for the next 25 years in case it could save his or her life in the future. Indeed, stem cell transplants from cord blood are used for the equivalent of bone marrow donations, often to patients with leukaemia. There may also be future advances where mesenchymal cells could be useful in treating chronic disorders and these potential applications have encouraged private businesses to lure the up-front costs of £1500 for the collection and storage of neonates' cord blood.
But the odds of the blood ever being used are low - estimated to be between 1 : 2 700 and 1 : 20 000 - and the commonest indication, childhood leukaemia, may require stem cells from a donor who does not have the carcinogenic mutation. Also, insufficient blood is available, so cord banks offer a more realistic solution and that is the view of all recognised expert groups, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The problem is that cord banks developed altruistically have not taken off in the public sector, with less than 1% of live births contributing their cord blood in Europe.
A possible public / private partnership has been initiated by Virgin Health in the UK whereby, for the same cost, 20% of the blood is set aside for personal use and 80% donated to a communal bank (Fisk & Atun BMJ 2008;336:642-4). It is an intriguing proposition and may offer an alternative for those wishing to protect their own interests - no matter how remote - and assist those less financially well-off.
