The future use of stem cells is obviously a difficult question to answer.
There is no doubt from the levels of research funding driving stem cell
research that this is a fast growing and potentially widespread branch of
therapeutic medicine. Ideally a properly funded national stem cell depository
would allow unfettered access for parents to a stem cell transplant if needed
now or in the future. Unfortunately parents come to us because that is not an
option for them: there are no widespread facilities to donate samples that
would be stored by stem cells storage experts.
Some of the potential therapies of stem cells would require amplification of
samples (technically possible now), raising the possibility of multiple uses
within a family unit. There is now so much research being undertaken and
reported we frequently find ourselves contradicting patients that it is not a
panacea and that much of the research has many years before therapies arise
from the work.
Areas which are rapidly gathering scientific credibility as therapies of the
future that would involve stem cell collection and storage include organ
engineering and repair and neurological damage repair, as well as Diabetes. Its
widespread use for certain malignancies is currently not recommended. However,
there is every possibility that this scenario will change. We feel that cord
blood stem cell storage will have a growing therapeutic role in the short
future. We feel strongly that private cord blood storage should be offered with
full counselling of the risks, limitations and benefits as part of an informed
consent process, but also that women are entitled to have access to information
to allow them to make this decision based on unbiased factual information about
stem cells and cord blood collection.
Submitted by Wayne Channon
