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Article: Baby-bank doubts
- Article from:
- The Press
- Article date:
- June 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 The Press. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A Christchurch paediatric oncologist says a facility that charges
for storing umbilical cord blood is exploiting parental fear.
The privately owned Cordbank opened in the Auckland suburb of
Parnell on Thursday, promoting itself as Australasia's first licensed
cord bank.
The facility's website claims that "saving your baby's umbilical
cord cells could save your baby's life".
Parents can have their child's umbilical cord blood collected and
frozen for $1650 and are also charged a yearly $150 storage fee.
Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells, which can in theory be
used to fight leukaemia, lymphoma, various anaemias, and genetic
disorders. Promoters of commercial cord banks offer to ...