BERGEN COUNTY RIGHT TO LIFE

Cord blood: curing diseases ethically

Umbilical cords are a rich source of stem cells, offering remarkable opportunities to treat both children and adults afflicted with leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening diseases. Pro-life advocates are excited about advances in medical treatment with umbilical cord blood, an ethical alternative to using embryonic stem cells, since it does not destroy unborn human beings.

Until the 1990s, doctors discarded umbilical cords from newborns. Although cord blood can be extracted in a simple, non-invasive procedure that takes a few minutes, it is still not widely collected. In the U.S., about 100,000 units are taken every year, but there are 4 million births each year. Public umbilical cord blood banks have been established in the United States, Canada, and many countries in Europe to further the research of the medical treatments of umbilical cord blood stem cells and for use in transplants of non-relatives.

Success stories have prompted Washington to take notice of this important source of stem cells. In December, President George W. Bush signed the Stem Cell Therapeutic & Research Act of 2005 (HR2520) into law, which provides a total of $265 million for life-saving stem cell therapeutic therapy, cord blood and bone marrow treatment, including $79 million dedicated to collecting cord blood units. The legislation, authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), will help create a national inventory of 150,000 cord blood units, to be used to help patients afflicted with lethal diseases of the blood (i.e. leukemia, lymphoma, severe aplastic anemia, myelodysplasia), as well as certain immune and metabolic diseases. Additionally, the national program will require cord blood banks to donate units that are not suitable for transplant to scientists.

Using blood from the cord blood bank decreases the time it takes to search for a match for a patient needing a stem cell transplant, because the samples are already typed for HLA (human leukocyte antigen) and blood group and are treated for infection. The match does not need to be as specific as with a direct bone marrow transplant. (The expected “suitable match” rate of 80-90% suggests that an inventory of 150,000 can substitute for a marrow donor registry of several million volunteers.) Furthermore, umbilical cord blood causes fewer problems with graft-versus-host disease, which means that cord blood offers an important advantage over marrow: its stem cells are less likely to attack the recipient`s body.

There is no cost to parents who choose to donate their infant`s cords to a public cord bank, but they would not be assured access to that particular blood should a family member someday need it. Private firms preserve umbilical cord blood for couples recognizing that a baby’s cord blood cells are a guaranteed match for his or her lifetime. (Additionally, they have at least a 1-in-4 chance of matching a sibling.) The major U.S. private firms charge processing and testing fees ranging from $1,595 (CRYO-CELL) to $1,750 (LifeBank USA) and annual storage fees of $125 (CRYO-CELL, CBR, Viacord, CorCell), as well as additional fees. All of the major companies offer financing and payment plans. Some skeptics point out that the probability of a family using its own stored cord blood is low, but many parents hope they will be able to save a loved one’s life. CRYO-CELL boasts 115,000 clients, CBR claims to have over 120,000, and Viacord has 80,000 customers.

After passage of the bill (12/05), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), said, “It occurred to me while driving to work this afternoon that it is especially fitting, that during these days of holiness and religious significance, that Congress sends to the President a bill designed to effectuate cures from some of the most devastating diseases and cancers on earth. Not only has God in His infinite wisdom and goodness created the placenta and umbilical cord to nurture and protect the precious life of an unborn child, but now we know that another gift awaits us immediately after birth, something very special is left behind – cord blood that is rich with stem cells. Indeed, one of the best kept secrets in America today is that umbilical cord blood stem cells and adult stem cells are curing people of a myriad of terrible conditions and diseases."