165 opted to store cord blood last year

s.scerri

Jun 18th 2009, 11:43

@ Sylvana - you have perfectly repeated my scientific assertions - you have denied none.

@ Jjups - the listed indications for stem cell therapy in you linked site is for embryonic stem cells - these are diofferent from cord blood stem cells - at the moment we have still not found a way how to transform blood stem cells into pluripotent stem cells - so the only use (at the moment) is for these to produce blood cells - so only to have a bone marrow replacement. And the likelhood that one shall need such a transplant is calcualted at around 1 in 3000 to 1 in 4000. And As I said, the chnaces are that a sib (more than a parent - less of a match) shall benefit. What we should press for is a National Cord Blood Bank - that hazs more advantages as we would be collecting over 4000 cord bloods a year whilst still leaving the choice for those that want to bank it privately to do so.

JJups

Jun 17th 2009, 16:45

So many misconceptions about stem cells, its no wonder so few bank. This site is a great place to review cord blood. http://cordbloodreviews.wordpress.com
There are currently 80 serious disease in the USA that are approved for treatment using cord blood. This is not theoretical treatments. The cost of doing something like this is minor compare to the costs of treating someone who has CP or Leukemia. If you are too cheap to spend money on insurance for your child, then at least donate the cells.

Sylvana Brannon

Jun 16th 2009, 22:42

Scerri/Finch: sorry I couldn't resist replying :-) because there are some misconceptions in your comments that I come across frequently. Cord blood stem cell therapy is a very real therapy and there have been thousands of cord blood stem cell transplants done. Mostly, yes, on siblings (about 70%) and some 20% on parents. Very few have used their own cord blood (maybe 9 in total so far) but this picture WILL change as time goes on and more treatments are applied to other diseases. Currently, yes, it is mostly used as an alternative to bone marrow transplants particularly for children and if a bone marrow donor cannot be found. But it is a science that is constantly advancing so there is no way of telling what the future may hold. And yes, cell amplification is also a very realistic possibility for the near future, thus increasing the number of uses one can get from one sample. There is investigation going on from many other sources of stem cells, but cord blood is right here right now, very easy to obtain, and already proven. As more research is carried out, chances of it being used (e.g. diabetes) will increase.

Sylvana Brannon

Jun 16th 2009, 22:29

Joey Borg: I was writing as a mother actually, which is how I first got involved in this anyway. I was an pregnant HR manager when I learned about this myself while I was still living in Canada, and it was something I wanted to do for my child. However there was no such service in Malta and I was even mocked about my idea when I asked about it. That's why I opened up Smart Cells locally - out of my own need to have the service. Then I wanted to make it available to others who might also be interested. I am a very normal person :-) and definitely not "elite" myself... I don't even have pushchairs because I carry my babies in slings :-). As regards the cost, our is THE LOWEST in all Europe because I am not into this solely for the money although of course like everyone else I have to feed my children and pay the bills. I fully agree with Scerri about the need for a public bank, although unfortunately in Malta we don't even have a bone marrow donor register because I've been told it's not financially feasible.

Dr Paul Sant Cassia

Jun 16th 2009, 22:21

M. Mifsud was right to point out that there is a problem with stem cell (prospective) therapies as well as with new medical developments (including NRT -New Reproductive Technologies ) which has to do with access - and this is something that I - as an anthropologist (and other colleagues at my University: Durham) - am very interested in. It is the following: it is highly unlikely that the state can ever both provide these types of therapies, and even less so 'designer' health engineering. This is going to be increasingly common in the future and there is a danger that society will become 'genetically stratified' : i.e. that different social groups can make pre- (and post-) reproductive decisions and interventions that take advantage of this super-technology which can result in a different type of society that we have hitherto been accustomed to. Previously it was 'natural' reproductive strategies with all the vagaries of chance that resulted in 'better-equipped/fitter' individuals. Now our evolutionary development is increasingly technologized, and it is much easier to direct wealth into 'de-randomised' (i.e. 'designed') genetic differences and stratification.

Chris Finch

Jun 16th 2009, 17:06

Stem cells (to give this treatment its proper name) can be found in a number of tissues in the body - including bone marrow.
All the people treated so far have been treated from bone marrow - not thier own 'cord blood'.
The storage costs seem to be very high without any guarantees that it will work or is indeed necessary.
To date bone marrow transplant has been the only effective stem cell treatment. Whilst scientists THINK stem cells MAY be used for a variety of other treatments, (including regrowing teeth) this is still all theoretical.
In the end I opted to save my money as it will probably turn out that stem cells derived from the inside of the cheeks will be just as valuable as 'cord blood' and these storage companies are playing on new parents fears in order to get them to pay up.
If it was as valuable as they say, health departments would routinely collect these cells.

pauline ellul

Jun 16th 2009, 16:49

m.mifsud. I don't consider myself to be an elite cause i have 3 kids and my husband goes to work everyday to provide for us.i stored my third baby's cord blood because i discovered how important it is.we did give up some small things that when you think about them they make no sense in our lives and we managed to pull it through. i have to say a big thanks to sylvana for all the information she and her team gave us.

Joey Borg

Jun 16th 2009, 16:01

Sylvana Brannon, considering you are the managing director of a company which provides the kit in malta i consider your comment as simply a pr initiative.

the price IS expensive, i don't know what shops you bought your pushchair from but mine costs under 500euro, and has all one expects. and its something you can't do without.

i wish i could afford to do it for my child but is out of reach for me, and the numbers in this article shows just that.. few hundreds in all.. how many births do we have in malta.. definitly more than that.

if you really want to help people, reduce your price.

S.Scerri

Jun 16th 2009, 15:49

This is a private venture and the cost is reasonable. The problem revolves more on the actual chance that one shall use this stored cord blood. At the moment cord blood stem cells (very different from embryonic stem cells) can only be utilised for case of bone marrow cancer and in such a case taking your own stem cells might not be a good idea as the cancer causing cells might already be present at the time of birth. The only real use might be to donate it to one's sib. On the other hand, it is very questionable if one can utilise these stem cells above the age of 10 years as the quantity is not enough (though some state that they are capable of culturing stem cells to increase the amount).

The real need is for a free, voluntary, national cord blood bank - in this way we can form part of an international network of such banks and one can find a match not only from the country but also abroad - The José Carreras' foundation has assisted in opening various banks e.g. Spain and Greece.

James Aquilinaa

Jun 16th 2009, 15:18

it costs an arm and a leg, But I dare not think of the consiquences if we opt out and something were to happen.

Sylvana Brannon

Jun 16th 2009, 15:16

In reply to M. Mifsud, when one considers the cost of under Euro2000 for a full, all-inclusive 25-year storage, it's a very realistic cost that is comparable to cord blood storage in other countries. Nowadays fancy pushchairs (with a maximum use of 3 years at most) cost almost as much, as do nurseries which one hardly needs for the first 2 years anyway. It is certainly not only for the elite. It is for people who choose this as a priority and not everybody may want to do that. As a mother, I stored the cord blood of all my 3 kids but that was my choice - I gave up certain unnecessities in exchange and I don't regret having made that choice.

M. Mifsud

Jun 16th 2009, 13:46

This could prove to be the best investment one can do for his child, if only the costs weren't so sky high. As present, cord blood storage is only available to the elite. Having a local company would certainly help to reduce these costs.