More about different opinions on public and private umbilical cord blood stem cell banks
The independent articles identified below are written by doctors, scientists and other people outside Virgin Health Bank. Whilst we can answer your questions about Virgin Health Bank, we’re not able to comment on work done or things written by other people. These references don’t necessarily represent our views at Virgin Health Bank – they’re intended to help you understand stem cell storage. Thousands of other references exist that aren’t included here, and our comments on each reference are just to give you some useful pointers, they are not complete summaries of each article.
Untying the Gordian knot: policies, practices, and ethical issues related to banking of umbilical cord blood
Kurtzberg, Joanne; Lyerly, Anne Drapkin
J Clin Invest. 2005 Oct;115(10):2592–7
This paper from 2005 contains lots of information about both public and private cord blood banking. It discusses the ‘pro’s and ‘con’s of both types of bank, and reviews the development of cord blood banks around the world since the first one was established in 1991. It also discusses the uses for cord blood stem cells today, and mentions the possible future uses in regenerative medicine.
Why cord blood?
Rubenstein P
Hum Immunol. 2006 Jun;67(6):398–404. Epub 2006 Mar 30
This review from 2006 discusses the benefits that a large and diverse public bank of cord blood stem cells could bring in terms of improving treatments today.
UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD BANKING Scientific Advisory Committee Opinion Paper 2
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Scientific Advisory Committee
This is an opinion paper by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) which is the professional body that governs these doctors in the UK. The paper discusses the approach that NHS maternity units are advised to take to private umbilical cord blood banking. This paper will help you to understand why some maternity units are less willing than others to assist with cord blood collection, however the paper also explains that the RCOG supports public umbilical cord blood banking, which is an important point. These issues are discussed in more detail in the Q&A section of the website.
Royal College of Midwives position statement on Umbilical Cord Blood banking
RCM position paper
This position paper was written by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the professional body that governs midwives in the UK. The paper provides guidance for midwives who are asked to assist with a private umbilical cord blood collection, and raises issues that the midwife should consider. This paper will help you to understand why some midwives are less willing than others to assist with cord blood collection. These issues are discussed in more detail in the Q&A section of the website.