The Hurbicide Guru

Umbilical cord blood once considered medical waste is now being stored. These days, it can be used to treat dozens of fearsome diseases: anemias, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, immune deficiency disorders and bone marrow failure, amongst others. Dr. Edward Guindi, an Orlando obstetrician-gynecologist said, “This is something that used to be discarded and could be a breakthrough like penicillin”.

Previously, cord blood was considered suitable only for children, on the grounds that each donation has about a tenth the number of stem cells as a marrow donation, but the Seattle Times recently reported that two studies show that umbilical cord blood could save the lives of thousands of adults who can’t find bone marrow donors. Both bone marrow and cord blood contain stem cells capable of developing into every kind of blood cell, but the stem cells in cord blood are less likely to attack the body of the recipient, allowing a larger margin of error in matching donors to recipients.

Less than 200 organizations in the US accept donations of cord blood. One, the Puget Sound Blood Center (PSBC) in Seattle, is the only cord blood bank in the Northwest. It provides blood and related products to more than 70 hospitals and clinics, affecting hundreds of blood donors each day.

Only 25% of donations come from non-Caucasians, which is a problem because it’s easier to find a compatible match if the donor is of the same race.

PSBC operates under the regulation of the NMDP, so the quality of its services is the same as other NMDP institutions. Some people prefer non-NMDP cord blood banks because the level of quality is higher than for NMDP, and they will be leading researchers of cord blood, up-to-date on the latest technology, procedures and research. Commensurate with this, non-NMDP banks charge a very high price.

It has been said that because of the slim chance that cord blood might be required, instead of banking cord blood privately, people would be better advised to buy onesies and use a public bank if the need arises.