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Pros & Cons of Cord Blood Storage

by Cheyenne Cartwright

Overview

Some expectant parents make arrangements to have the umbilical cord blood from their baby's placenta stored in a private blood bank in case the child may need a bone marrow transplant later in life. Many doctors, however, say this is unnecessary unless there is a history of certain diseases, such as leukemia, sickle cell anemia, or inherited metabolic problems like Hurler's syndrome, in the family.
What is Cord Blood?

Umbilical cord blood is blood from the placenta, which supplies oxygen and nourishment to a baby in utero. The placenta is expelled from the mother's body after the baby is delivered. Cord blood contains stem cells, which can be used to grow specialized cells. They are particularly useful in treating cancer or certain blood disorders.

Uses

A study published in the November 26, 1998 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine described 562 adult leukemia patients who were given cord blood transplants from unrelated donors instead of bone marrow transplants. On average, the patients who received the cord blood transplants were all younger, sicker, and more likely to be black or of another non-white minority, than the patients in the control group, who received bone marrow transplants. Despite these discrepancies, about 85 percent of the cord-blood recipients had successful outcomes to their treatment, meaning they did not suffer a recurrence of leukemia. This is very close to the same percentage of bone-marrow transplant patients in the study who also did not have recurrences. The authors of the study concluded that cord blood transfusion could be as useful a tool in treating certain illnesses as bone marrow transplants are.
Cord Blood Banking

Private blood banks began offering expectant parents the option of saving the cord blood from their baby's placenta and storing it, just in case the child might someday suffer from an illness that would necessitate treatment using stem cells. Opinions vary, however, on whether banking cord blood is a good idea.
In Favor

Banking cord blood will give parents whose family members have suffered from leukemia, sickle cell disease, or inherited metabolic disorders an immediate path to treatment, and thus some peace of mind. In February 2009, Science Daily reported the results of a study that concluded that cord blood transfusions even from mismatched or unrelated donors could help children with serious illnesses. The risk of a child's body rejecting stem cells from his/her own cord blood is very low, making the prospect that such a transplant will be successful much greater.
Opposed

Denise Grady reported in The New York Times in December 1998 that, "Some experts in bone-marrow transplantation and blood banking frown on the cord-blood business, arguing that people are being frightened into wasting money on a service they will probably never need." A survey in Science Daily in March 2009 found that most doctors did not encourage their patients to bank cord blood unless there was a family history of illnesses such as those already described. Doctors reasoned that unless other family members had already suffered from such diseases, the odds of a child needing a bone marrow transplant are very slim. Furthermore, parents have to decide in advance of delivery that they want to save the cord blood, and they have to arrange with a private blood bank to have the procedure when the baby is delivered. The initial charge for the procedure ranges from $1,500 to $2,000, and then the parents must pay a storage fee annually that runs between $100 and $200. Another issue is the possibility of complications resulting from the procedure, which is considered very low risk, but still not risk-free. A final drawback is that as the child ages, the efficacy of a transplant of stem cells from his/her own cord blood diminishes.
Cord Blood Donation

Some physicians do encourage their patients to donate their baby's cord blood to public blood banks, like those run by the American Red Cross, because the blood can be used to treat children who might otherwise not be able to find bone marrow donors. Parents must arrange for the procedure in advance. It is free to the parents and confidential.