Can the Umbilical Cord Save Lives?.
June 26, 2000–When Lisa Taner, 34, learned that she was pregnant, she wanted to donate her umbilical cord blood, a once discarded birth byproduct that she knew could save lives. Not only would she give birth to one child, but by banking her cord blood she might have the opportunity to help another child survive. Or so she thought. Despite the tremendous promise of cord blood cells in treating disease, it turns out that few public blood banks collect this resource, and private banks charge high fees for the service. In fact, Taner found it impossible to donate her baby’s cells — and is now among the growing chorus of parents who say it’s time for that to change. The Belmont, Calif., woman had read a magazine story reporting that public cord blood banks were accepting donations of this rich source of stem cells (immature blood cells), to treat children ill with leukemia and other cancers. This account, like many others over the last few years, reported on medical studies that had shown
