A science built on hope

Professionals in the field of private cord blood banking have come out in defence of their practice, dismissing the notion that private banks should not compete against a public bank of cord blood deposits.

Many are the firms who encourage parents to freeze their babies' umbilical cord in a bid to cure future illnesses the child might contract. There is a proviso of course: freezing the cord has a limit of 25 years.

Two weeks ago, blood cell expert Pierre Schembri Wismayer told MaltaToday that whilst public cord banking was "recommendable", its privatisation was not as straightforward.

Schembri Wismayer claimed private companies used "inflated claims" to sell their services, arguing for for instance the 25-year limit on storing cord blood put paid to the possibility of treating diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, given the fact that these illnesses occur later on in life.

MaltaToday contacted some of these blood banks to see what they made of Schembri Wismayer's claims.

Sylvana Brannon, director of Stem Cells Malta, and the first mother in Malta to store cord blood from her own baby, said that private banking was often portrayed as "the bad guy competing against public banking."

"Whilst this is certainly not the case, the fact that public banking was not currently available in Malta and that there were no bone marrow donor registers, we had no option but to rely on foreign banks.

"However, private banking is not a competitor or enemy of public banking. It simply provides one option of what to do with cord blood instead of throwing it away," Brannon said.

Brannon argues that while Schembri Wismayer is correct in saying that a number of private banks prey on the emotional vulnerability of expecting parents, she said that this was mainly the case in the past.

"A serious private bank, and one that is appropriately licensed by a credible authority, will not make false claims but will instead use published scientific research to help parents reach the decision that is right for their family, and not resort to emotional blackmail," she said.

In response to Schembri Wismayer's statement that private banks only store cord blood for 25 years, Brannon says cells that are cryogenically preserved could, in theory, remain viable for decades.

"There are companies that store cord blood for 20, 25, and even 30 years. Some even offer annual storage terms... but theoretically, the shelf-life of cells stored at liquid nitrogen temperatures has been estimated to be of 1,000 years," she said.

"But cord-blood research only began in the 1970s, so the maximum time for storage and potential usage are still being determined.

"What is most definitely important is that if parents decide to store their baby's cord blood, they do so with a company that is licensed by the Human Tissue Authority, the UK's professional body, which ensures that the EU storage guidelines for appropriate long-term viability of cells are being followed."

Brannon agreed with Schembri Wismayer's assessment that public cord banking would be of great benefit. "By having a public bank, cord blood normally discarded as waste would be collected from qualifying donors, processed, and stored altruistically to be used to help patients looking for a stem cell donor," she said, adding that the project should start now and bring Malta's healthcare in line with other countries'.

On her part, Brannon is confident of the durability of cord blood, referring to leading UK stem cell scientist Peter Holland who says the 25-year period can easily be extended when the time comes if the owner of the cord blood so wishes.

But Dr Joseph Xuereb, dental surgeon and director at BioEden Malta - the first and only specialist bio-bank to collect, assess and cryogenically store living cells from teeth - said that whilst it was true that the storage of cord blood for unspecified time-periods was, up to now, "uncharted territory", the discipline remains very much in its infancy.

"Who is to tell what developments will take place in future? Moreover, who is willing to state categorically, at present, that stem cells harvested and properly stored now will be useless in 25 years' time?"

Dr Renald Blundell, a senior lecturer in biochemistry at the University of Malta, put weight behind this argument, while describing the setting-up of a public bank as "the best solution".

"Unfortunately scientists like myself are not consulted on these matters, and sometimes our ideas are just evaluated on their cost rather than benefits," Blundell, who is the founder of Natural Remedies, which stores stem cells, says.

Blundell believes that, with further research, stem cells therapy had the potential to cure a number of so-far-incurable diseases.

"In some countries like Canada there are national campaigns in order for people to donate stem cells, same as we do in Malta with blood donation. As a company, we also had a cost-free donation programme, whereby we store umbilical cord blood free of charge for family member diagnosed with a life-threatening disease treatable by stem cells."

But Blundell stressed that misinforming clients and resorting to excessive marketing schemes - a claim made by Schembri Wismayer - was problematic for the sector.

"But it is also very wrong for somebody to kill the motivation and hope for patients or family members.  If a patient or their relatives lose hope, half of the battle is lost, so for me killing hope for a patient is a crime. Some people unfortunately also try to sell 'hope' and this is a crime too."