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ARTICLES: Ian Thornley, Mary Eapen, Lillian Sung, Stephanie J. Lee, Stella M. Davies, and Steven Joffe Private Cord Blood Banking: Experiences and Views of Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Physicians Pediatrics 2009; 123: 1011-1017 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Cord blood banking: enable parents to decide for themselves.

Frances Verter   (26 March 2009)

Cord blood banking: enable parents to decide for themselves. 26 March 2009
Frances Verter, Executive Director Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation Send letter to journal: Re: Cord blood banking: enable parents to decide for themselves. fverter{at}his.com Frances Verter	To the Editor of Pediatrics, I am writing in response to the article in the March issue, “Private Cord Blood Banking: Experiences and Views of Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Physicians.” I am the Founder and Director of the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation (ParentsGuideCordBlood.org). We feel it is not in the best interests of parents for the journal Pediatrics to publish an article with data from a 2004 survey, whose purpose seems to be to urge pediatricians to steer parents away from private cord blood banking. We also think it is not in the best interests of pediatricians to dispense recommendations on choices in stem cell storage, when no one can predict the outcome of medical research in this field. The Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation advocates that parents should receive balanced education about medical research on cord blood stem cells and the available cord blood banking options. This approach follows the established Federal health policy introduced by the Institute of Medicine. We endorse both public donation and family/private cord blood banking, and we emphasize that each family must decide which option is best for them. Parents do not need paternalistic physicians telling them which investments for their child’s safety and future development they should consider. Furthermore, the medical content of this article is misleading. As coauthor on the recent publication, “Lifetime Probabilities of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in the US” (ref 1), I confirm that the probability of requiring a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is low in childhood, but it increases steadily throughout life, so over a 70-year lifetime the odds become 1 in 200. The physicians surveyed for the Pediatrics article only see children diagnosed with conditions where HSCT is the standard of care. However, in the last 24 months alone, other physician specialists have treated more than 60 children for diabetes and neurological conditions using privately banked autologous cord blood. This new class of patients and physicians, which will increase as research advances and more people have access to their own cells, are not considered in the Pediatrics article. The Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation advocates that parents should receive current information and should be encouraged to make their own decision. Sincerely, Frances Verter, PhD, ParentsGuideCordBlood.org Reference: Nietfeld JJ, Pasquini MC, Logan BR, Verter F, Horowitz MM. Lifetime probabilities of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the US. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2008;14:316-22. Conflict of Interest: None declared