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[Peter]

Peter,

Is storage only good for umbilical cord blood? Is it at all possible to store regular blood for the same purpose?


Only cord blood contains the stem cells which are used for transplant.



Also, when we had our child delivered the IVF clinic arranged the pick up/collection of the umbilical cord for medical research. We had no idea storage was even an option, and if known we might have asked that some be kept/sent for storage. Has there been any attempt to encourage researchers/clinics to tell clients about this as a matter of courtesy?


I am very sorry to hear that all of the options were not described to you. This should have been part of your informed consent process to donate the sample to research. This was very poor practice.

We are actively trying to educate the general public on the subject of umbilical cord blood collection and storage. At present in Canada only about 0.5% of deliveries have cord blood stored.

We also have a public bank where those people who do not wish to store for their opwn family can donate the sample for use in transplantation worldwide.

Regards,

Peter

Please see my comments in your text: