Banking Umbilical Cord Blood

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the new trend of banking personal umbilical cord blood intended for private use in the United Kingdom. The paper looks at the position of supporters and opponents and shows how this ethical controversy touches upon many issues raised by a national healthcare system. The paper suggests two solutions and maintains that a balance between public and private funds must always be negotiated, even in a system of socialized medicine.

From the Paper:

"According to Leroy C Edozien of the British Medical Journal, increasing numbers of women in maternity units across the United Kingdom are requesting doctors to collect and preserve their umbilical cord blood when delivering their babies to enable the women to privately store the umbilical cord stem cells for possible transfusions in the future. "Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells that can be used to treat patients with abnormal haematopoietic cell lines, childhood leukemia, or metabolic diseases. Bone marrow is used for this purpose, but cord blood is cheaper and easier to obtain and less likely to trigger a harmful immune response or rejection in the recipient" (Edozien 2006). The NHS of Britain has been banking donated cord blood since 1996 in public banks operated by the National Blood Service that are voluntarily and anonymously donated to be used for general purposes in the larger population."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dixon, Anna. (14 May 2008). "The NHS, but not as you know it." The Guardian Retrieved 30May 2008 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/may/14/nhs.health
• Edozien, Leroy C. (14 Oct 2006). "NHS maternity units should not encourage commercialbanking of umbilical cord blood." British Medical Journal. 333(7572):801. Retrieved 30 May 2008 at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/333/7572/801
• "Embryology bill controversy." (26 Mar 2008). NHS Choices. Retrieved 30 May 2008 athttp://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/03March/Pages/EmbryologyBillcontroversy.aspx
• "NHS standards vary in postcode lottery." (29 May 2008). Health Direct.http://www.healthdirect.co.uk/2008/05/nhs-hospitals-care-standards-vary-in.html

More papers on Banking Umbilical Cord Blood:

• Comparison Essay # 61920 : "Cord Blood Banking"
• Argumentative Essay # 96327 : "Umbilical Stem Cells"
• Term Paper # 67722 : "Stem Cell Research"

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