Some of you may have seen or heard of the ABC World News last week regarding the big business of cord blood banking.
*Sigh*
We wrestled with even mentioning it, since it was a damning report on how doctors and cord blood banks are coercing and practically bribing families to bank umbilical cord blood without sufficient evidence that it's worth anything.
We thought that if we ignored it, it would be like ignoring the 800 lb gorilla in the room with us.
Some parts of the ABC report are helpful: if a child is afflicted with a genetic disease, and the disease is an inherent part of that child's DNA, his or her own cord blood stem cells will not help.
And yes, many of the diseases listed in many cord blood company materials are indeed experimental. But remember, Penicillin was an accidental discovery, and experiments are how we innovate.
And finally, most children, thank God, will never, ever need to pull those stem cells out of liquid nitrogen storage for use by themselves or their families. This is a good thing.
But the report commits two crimes:
First, it ignores the cases where cord blood transfusions, experimental as they may be, have demonstrated remarkable improvements in children with cerebral palsy and blood disorders and cancers like franconi anemia.
Next, it throws all the cord blood companies in the same basket when there are distinct differences is accreditation and cost.
For example (ok, you knew this was coming; we have to toot our horn a little):
- Some cord blood banks have free annual storage and don't harrass patients with annual storage fees. Uh, like MAZE.
- Some cord blood banks reject huge advertising budgets in order to keep the price of collection and storage as low as possible. Hmm, like MAZE.
- And some cord blood banks have top notch accreditation and regulatory approval to insure the greatest success with the specimens they do store. You guessed it: MAZE.
So how about a little even-handedness, ABC? A little respect for your viewership, the rank-and-file parent-to-be who knows how to make a good decision for her own family, would serve you better.
When parents elect to bank their babies' cord blood, they know what they're doing and why. Most children don't run into traffic on the highway, but we still teach them the rules of road safety. Most of us will live long lives and be around to support and love our children. But we do buy life insurance, don't we? Just in case? Parents who bank are banking on the future of medical technology and doing their best to keep their family safe in the face of uncertainties. Those who don't, do not have the same notion of risk and need to be respected for their point of view.
When it comes to cord blood banking it's hard to parse out truth, myth, economics, race, religion, parenting, health, illness - and, mostly, fear. Much like reproductive rights, marriage equality, secure borders with Mexico, Afganistan and whether your 2-year old should have an iphone, there are many points of view. And parents-to-be are absolutely able to navigate the territory and do their own research and come to their own conclusions.
In the spirit of full disclosure, and because we really believe in what we're doing, here's the link to that dastardly report. Be sure to check out the indignant comments from viewers who respectfully disagreed with the
report.
