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Parents are paying thousands to freeze umbilical cords

Parents are opting to freeze the blood from their baby's umbilical cord [Photo: Getty]
Parents are opting to freeze the blood from their baby's umbilical cord Photo: Getty Images

More and more parents are paying to freeze parts of their baby's umbilical cord for later in life, figures have revealed.

Cord blood and tissue is rich in stem cells, which is increasingly being used to treat genetic diseases.

This has lead to a spike in the number of parents paying thousands to store their baby’s umbilical cord blood with private companies.

Figures from the regulator, the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that 27,028 blood and tissue units were banked privately in 2018 compared with 16,965 units in 2014.

According to the HTA the fees set by private cord blood banks can be estimated to cost around £2,000 (or $AU3,600) for 20 years of storage.

What is cord blood banking?

According to NSW Health, cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord following the birth of your baby.

Blood-producing stem cells (called haematopoietic stem cells) are present in cord blood.

To treat some serious medical conditions it is necessary to destroy a person’s bone marrow or other immune cells and replace them with new, healthy, haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) which have come from bone marrow or blood,” the site explains.

“Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells and can be used in such treatments,” it continues, adding the blood can be stored ‘for years’.

Following the birth of a baby, the placenta is usually thrown away along with the cord blood that is in it, but experts are discovering more diseases and conditions that could potentially be treated with stem cells found within cord blood.

As mentioned above, the process can cost around £2,000.

The HTA recommend asking for a breakdown of the charges to find out what is included.

What’s the difference between private and public blood banking?

What's the difference between private and public cord blood banking? Photo: Getty Images
What's the difference between private and public cord blood banking? Photo: Getty Images

While private banks store blood units solely for use by the donor or their family, parents can also opt to donate cord blood to a public stem-cell bank, like the Sydney Cord Blood Bank, which are then made available for public use.

But there is still some doubt over the need for private cord blood banking.

"There is still very little evidence to support the need for parents of healthy children to use expensive private cord blood banking,” Dr Alasdair Rankin, Director of Research, Policy and Support at the blood cancer charity Bloodwise said.

“Childhood blood cancers are thankfully very rare and the vast majority of children will be successfully treated with chemotherapy.

“We would urge parents to donate cord blood to the NHS cord blood bank in those hospitals where this option is available."

According to the BBC, the Royal College of Midwives and the British Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have previously said they supported public but not private banking.

They claim there has not been enough evidence to recommend routine private cord collection and banking unless there was a medical reason.

But both bodies told the BBC that they were currently looking at their position on the topic.

While many parents are opting to save their babies umbilical cord for health reasons, others are hoping to turn theirs into keepsakes.

From jewellery to dream catchers, turns out there’s a whole slew of parents getting crafty with their babies’ umbilical cords.

Words by Marie Claire Dorking

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