June 3, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Researchers are finding a rich supply of stem cells in umbilical cord blood for use in treatment of a number of diseases like leukemia. The stem cells found in cord blood are as viable and flexible as those found in embryos, can be easily collected without any ethical drawbacks, stored indefinitely and are easier to match to patients than those from bone marrow. However, availability is becoming a problem. In the US bureaucratic hold-ups are causing an unnecessary shortage and are blocking efforts to set up a national cord blood bank. As in Canada, there are no federal standards for collecting or storing of cord blood, or any central registry of information, despite the proven track record of treatment with stem cells derived from it. Patients looking for cord blood to treat diseases are faced with a random collection of private clinics and storage facilities.
One of the big problems regarding cord blood storage in the United States is being described as a “turf war” between two main, rival non-profit cord blood agencies, National Marrow Donor Program, based in Minneapolis, and the New York Blood Center, a non-profit blood bank The two groups are arguing over which group should oversee the national organization of cord blood collection and storage. In the meantime, doctors who want stem cells for treatments are growing impatient. “It’s been a tremendous waste of time and energy arguing about it,” said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, of Duke University Medical Center. In Canada, Dr. Peter Hollands has spoken with LifeSiteNews.com on a number of occasions calling for more government oversight and funding for a national cord blood bank in this country. Says Hollands, who runs the for-profit company, Cells for Life, in Markham, Ontario, “If we create a national Canadian cord blood bank, collecting samples from most of the deliveries in Canada, then we would have enough cells to treat everyone. This is our aim at Cells for Life and we are currently lobbying parliament on this subject.” New York times coverage: https://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/175506_medi29.html