Are there reports of cord blood “cures” which have dubious validity?
YES. The most miraculous cures always seem to come from parts of the world with little medical oversight. Does this mean the USA FDA is too strict or the claims are bogus? Judge each case for yourself. Examples: Using a child’s own cord blood to treat cancer: The advertising of private cord blood banks seems to suggest that cord blood can be used to treat the baby if s/he develops cancer. This is extremely unlikely. While adult cancers result from acquired cell mutations, there is evidence that many pediatric cancers arise from inborn genetic abnormalities. In that case, it is not safe to treat the child with (autologous) transplants of their own stem cells. Sample reference: • Backtracking leukemia to birth , Rowley, Janet D. 1998 Nature Medicine vol.4(2) 150-151 There are, however, exceptions to this rule: The 2002 report of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation recognizes autologous transplant as standard practice for children with high risk AML in first remission.
