BMJ  2008;336:642-644 (22 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39489.454699.AD

Analysis

Public-private partnership in cord blood banking

Nicholas M Fisk, professor of obstetrics and fetal medicine 1, Rifat Atun, professor of international health management2

1 Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN , 2 Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ

Correspondence to: N M Fisk nfisk@uq.edu.au

Demand for stem cells from cord blood is greater than supply. Nicholas Fisk and Rifat Atun examine the potential of Virgin’s combination of personal and public banking to increase storage

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Cord blood is usually discarded at birth but is rich in haemopoietic stem cells, which are increasingly used as an alternative to bone marrow for transplantation. Umbilical blood may also contain mesenchymal stem cells, which in future might be used to repair damaged tissues in a range of diseases such as strokes, heart attacks, renal failure, and diabetes.

Many countries established altruistic public banks of cord blood in response to the increasing need for haemopoietic stem cells for patients with leukaemia and genetic conditions.1 2 3 The limited coverage of these banks, together with the future potential for stem cell cures, led to the introduction of private autologous banking of both haemopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells from cord blood. However, many health professionals oppose private banking because of its speculative and commercial nature. Consumers face an array of providers with conflicting information on the usefulness of banked cord blood. We analyse the . . . [Full text of this article]


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