MP's 'life-saving' cord blood bid

Umbilical cord blood is rich in therapeutic stem cells

An MP is to launch a bid to get doctors to offer parents the option of storing their baby's umbilical cord blood.

Tory MP David Burrowes is to present a bill to Parliament about the potentially life-saving technique.

Cord blood is rich in stem cells that can treat diseases such as leukaemia and - some believe if technology advances - Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

A host of private firms have started offering the service as NHS provision is limited to only a handful of trusts.

Just 2,000 samples are taken by the NHS each year to supply the NHS Cord Blood Bank, which is used to treat anyone who needs it for a blood cell disorder.

I want to stop the waste of life saving cord blood and open up the opportunities for treatment of diseases and ethical stem cell research David Burrowes, Tory MP

But there have been cases where the bank has struggled to find matches, especially among ethnic minority groups.

With private firms, cord blood storage prices are as high as £1,500, with it being marketed as an insurance policy because the stem cells could be used to treat a range of diseases in the future.

Stem cell scientists are still a long way from achieving this and that has so far stopped the government from changing its stance.

But Mr Burrowes, who represents Enfield in London, said he had been persuaded to put forward the 10-minute rule bill after sitting on a cross-party group which looked at the issue of stem cell therapy during a review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Bill.

The primary aim of his bill is to require doctors to inform parents of the technique, although under parliamentary rules a 10-minute bill cannot become law on its own.

Instead, Mr Burrowes is hoping the debate will raise awareness and lead to it being incorporated into another bill, possibly the embryo bill which is due back before the House of Commons.

He said: "I want to stop the waste of life-saving cord blood and open up the opportunities for treatment of diseases and ethical stem cell research."

Support

He is being supported by a host of experts and patients groups, including the Leukaemia Society and Anthony Nolan Trust.

Colin McGuckin, professor of regenerative medicine at Newcastle University, said: "Cord blood has already cured around 10,000 people, but despite this much of the UK stem cell funding goes towards other types of stem cells."

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said it "broadly" supported the bill.

But a spokesman added: "The RCOG recommends that an appropriately trained and skilled technician is present to collect the cord blood so that the obstetrician and midwife are focused on the care of the mother immediately after the birth."

The government said there were no immediate plans to change the stance, but said its policy was kept under review.