DECEMBER 27, 2006
Viewpoint
By Michael Cohen
Stem Cells: Tapping a Different Source
A biotech CEO thinks companies should aid in the storage of umbilical cord blood, a source of cells that can play a vital role in curing diseases
Discussion of the role of stem cells in treatment of ailments such as Parkinson's disease has become enmeshed in political debate. But stem cells can be found in a number of uncontroversial sources such as umbilical cord blood. Painlessly withdrawn after the cord is cut, umbilical cord-blood stem cells are already used to cure leukemia and sickle-cell anemia, and exhibit the ability to treat more than 75 additional diseases. However, there is one big catch: the prohibitive cost of banking them.
Despite their potentially lifesaving power, umbilical cord stem cells are discarded in hospitals around the country on a regular basis. As information spreads about the medical potential of cord-blood stem cells, the number of units in private banks is increasing, but most families still find the cost prohibitive. At approximately $1,500 to preserve a unit and a $100 annual maintenance fee, private cord-blood banking is leading us headlong into a caste system where financial ability can determine access to a future cure.
Most critically, even for those with the financial ability to bank privately, there is still the need for access to a donor bank, as many of the diseases that are being treated with stem-cell transplants require a donated unit. In addition, due to testing and legal issues, privately banked cord blood can only be retrieved by the donor family, not the general public.
A Good Start To date, the pool of available cord blood in the U.S. is limited and there is a significant lack of genetic diversity, decreasing the potential of finding a match for those from ethnic and minority backgrounds.
There are currently a few not-for-profit cord-blood banks where individuals can donate at no cost, but the donor must turn over all rights and ability to access the unit. Additionally, these banks had not been able to create a national tracking system, and so recently the federal government got involved. The Health Resources & Services Administration just awarded $12 million to six cord-blood facilities to preserve 10,500 diverse units in the next year in an effort to create the National Cord Blood Inventory. The goal of the program is to collect 150,000 units paid for with millions more in grants over the next few years.
The national inventory is indeed a good idea, and the $12 million grant is admirable. But at this rate, assuming $1,143 per unit for collection, testing, and storage, it would cost $171.5 million to reach the 150,000 government objective. That doesn't even take into account the fact that not all units collected will be viable. Nor does it account for the need to replenish supply as units are used for medical treatment.
Time for a Private Model With each passing day medical waste bins are filled with the potential cure for debilitating and deadly diseases. We do not have the time to wait for the government to raise the funds needed to create a nationally representative public bank—particularly when there is a reasonable and in fact profitable business model under which private industry could step in and speed the process.
Commercial industry could not only set up the necessary infrastructure, as private banks have proven, but private companies are also equipped to launch an appropriate and essential consumer education program to generate public awareness and interest.
The current private model must be reinvented. Instead of charging families to bank their child's cord blood, companies can and should bank cord blood for free—funding their efforts through insurance reimbursements when the cord blood is used for medical treatment.
New Technology on the Way The business community could achieve the goal of creating a diverse national umbilical cord-blood supply faster and eliminate the need to drain public funding that can be allocated more effectively —potentially redirecting monies to umbilical cord-blood stem cell research. Scientists are continually seeking grant money to conduct innovative research aimed at creating new stem cell cures.
We are also getting close to the development of cord-blood expansion technology that would allow each unit to be used for more than one recipient. Once this breakthrough is achieved, individuals will be able to donate cord blood while also saving a portion for use by their family—providing them the best of both the public and private banking models.
Stem cells offer a range of miraculous possibilities that we are only beginning to uncover. The discoveries on the horizon of stem cell research are infinite and, eventually, will benefit us all if we can create a system that allows equal access. Otherwise, our discoveries, no matter how incredible, will only help a privileged few.
Until the corporate community steps up, providing free collection and storage for all those willing to donate, the enormous healing potential of cord blood will not be realized.
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