The arguments levelled against the collection and storage of umbilical cord stem cells for future use are not strong enough to block this practice in Ireland, according to a leading stem cell scientist at NUI Galway.
Although Prof Frank Barry, director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at NUIG admits that the likelihood that a child will require his or her own stem cells in the future is extremely small (one in several thousand), he feels that even if there is a remote possibility of getting some form of therapeutic benefit in the future, it is well worthwhile.
"Cord blood stem cells have been used for 20 years now to treat individual blood malignancies, for instance a number of different types of leukaemia and severe anaemias have been treated with cord blood stem cell transplants.
"Cord blood is very rich in stem cells and there have already been 6,000 successful transplants internationally," he explained.
In addition to blood stem cells, other types of stem cell have been found in cord blood more recently and its application in the treatment of other conditions, including heart disease and spinal cord injury, is now being investigated.
Speaking at a recent public talk organised by REMEDI, Prof Barry also outlined the arguments against the collection and storage of cord blood.
"Typically, if you are giving birth, the baby's blood could be taken and stored for future use, but the possibility of it ever being used is very low. It's taking out an insurance policy against a very low probability.
"As cord blood collection is often done as a commercial venture, where parents pay a lot of money, the medical profession is of the opinion that there is a level of exploitation involved as parents are spending money on something that there is a remote chance they will ever use."
The argument from the point of view of the obstetricians, explained Prof Barry, is that the collection procedure could potentially interfere with the attention being paid to the baby and mother at birth which he admits is a valid point.
Then there is the issue of liability if anything goes wrong, he said.
The new EU Tissue Directive, which was put in place at the end of 2006, sets out a range of conditions relating to the collection of tissues for transplant.
Hospitals will have to be licensed as a tissue facility under the new legislation to collect cord blood and Prof Barry does not think this is a path many hospitals will be prepared to take.
He points out that to provide a public blood band with enough samples to cover the entire population of Ireland - similar to the one in Northern Ireland - would only require between 1,500 and 3,000 samples.
