Lack of Cord Blood Education May Limit Industry’s Growth

A recent article published in the Arizona Republic suggests that the only thing standing between many patients with genetic and blood diseases and the application of cord blood to treat their illnesses is the lack of awareness on the subject.

Parents can either choose to donate their child’s cord blood to a public bank or store it private for their own use. However, 90% of parents choose to do neither, instead opting to discard the umbilical cord as waste.

The lack of cord blood units currently stored in public registries and private banks makes it difficult for patients in need of transplants to find a donor. Although cord blood can be used to treat over 75 different diseases, patients suffering from those diseases are often left without the option of cord blood treatment.

The solution to this problem is to increase awareness of cord blood banking, so that expecting parents know that their children – or another child in need – could benefit from their donation or their stored cord blood unit.

Many public and private cord blood banks are looking to tackle this issue. July has recently been established as Cord Blood Awareness Month, during which professionals in the industry aim to inform and educate the general public about the benefits of banking their children’s cord blood.