Umbilical cord blood collected 'illegally'
Wednesday March 10th, 2010
By Jane Collingwood
Attempts to collect umbilical cord blood after birth may often be illegal,
it was announced yesterday.
The blood is prized because it can be used to develop treatments for cancer and other diseases if a child or family member falls ill.
There have been a number of incidents where parents themselves have collected cord blood, or where medical staff felt pressured to collect cord blood without training, warns the UK's Human Tissue Authority.
The organisation issued their warning yesterday (March 9) to more than 150 organisations including maternity units and professional bodies because of the risk to safety and quality standards.
Collection of cord blood should only take place under a Human Tissue Authority licence, to ensure staff are properly trained and to avoid contamination.
Dr Shaun Griffin of the Human Tissue Authority said: "Collection of cord blood is the same as any other medical procedure: it needs to be carried out safely by trained staff, because collection is not without risk to the mother and baby.
"We don't want parents to leave it too late to organise collection because, if things go wrong, it can cause distress and the sample could be wasted. We know of incidents where parents have brought cord blood kits into the delivery room and put pressure on untrained medical professionals to collect cord blood."
He calls on parents to consider the issue early in pregnancy, explaining that hospitals may provide or allow a trained specialist to carry out the collection.
Louise Silverton of the Royal College of Midwives added: "The time during the birth when cord blood is collected is one of the riskiest times, in terms of safety. Therefore, it is essential that midwives are able to concentrate on the birth and are not put under pressure to carry out unregulated and unlawful cord blood collections."
Tags: Childbirth and Pregnancy | Nursing & Midwifery | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
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