ABSTRACT
The storage of umbilical cord cells has not been without controversy and there is a rapidly growing private sector involvement. A number of ethical issues continue to be debated involving questions of regulation and quality assurance, ownership and commercialisation and patenting. The chapter aims to investigate some of these issues. Historically bone marrow transplantation has been used in the treatment of patients with blood and immune disorders requiring a source of haematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Until recently, the blood remaining in the placenta and umbilical cord following the birth of a baby was discarded as a waste product. The use of cord blood cells has a number of advantages over the use of bone marrow, particularly in the paediatric context. Cord blood units (CBU) are more rapidly available than bone marrow. Biologically cord blood belongs to the newborn child but a newborn child is unable to exert its property rights or give consent to its use.
