California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a consumer alert regarding the potential risks associated with storing umbilical cord blood with private banks. Families often pay for this service, believing it could be beneficial for future medical treatments. However, advances in medicine have led to alternatives that are less costly and more effective than using privately banked cord blood.
Attorney General Bonta highlights several issues related to private cord blood banking. He notes that "privately banked cord blood stem cells may become tainted during storage," which can render them unusable. Furthermore, the rarity of treatments using privately stored cord blood has increased due to advancements in medical research favoring other sources of stem cells.
Since 2010, only 19 transplants using a child's own cord blood have been reported by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. This statistic underscores the limited application of such treatments.
Bonta advises Californians to thoroughly research their options before deciding on private cord blood banking. He emphasizes consulting healthcare providers and exploring available alternatives. According to Bonta, "medical treatments using privately banked cord blood are exceedingly rare" and recent medical advances continue to reduce their frequency.
Additionally, concerns about contamination during collection or storage further complicate the issue as private banks do not adhere to stringent standards like public banks do. This lack of regulation can result in unusable samples due to insufficient stem cell quantities or contamination.
Bonta also mentions skepticism about claims from some private banks that stored cord blood will last a lifetime, noting there is no evidence supporting such assertions.
Resources available for those seeking more information include the California Department of Public Health, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies.