News Release

Umbilical cord blood banking Richard Branson's way

Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Lancet_DELETED

Any attempt to increase the available pool of umbilical cord blood cells,* which are otherwise just discarded, should be enthusiastically praised, states the lead Editorial in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

Last week Richard Branson expanded his ubiquitous Virgin Brand by branching out into umbilical cord blood banking—for £1500 parents can buy processing and 20-year storage of umbilical cord blood. There are currently seven other private cord blood banks in the UK. These private banks have been criticised by health-care staff and medical colleges, such as the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG), for approaching parents at a vulnerable time, and making far-fetched references to future regenerative use when the true likelihood for personal use for current indications is somewhere between one in 1000 and one in 200000.

The Virgin Health Bank is different because of its dual public-private approach. One-fifth of the cord blood sample will be stored for private use, and the rest will be donated to the public part of the bank, which is accessible to anyone who needs it at no cost. In addition Branson has pledged to donate his 50% of proceeds from the Bank to initiatives involved in realising the potential of cord blood stem cells.

The Editorial criticises the unsupportive stance taken by National Health Service staff and the RCOG and concludes: "Despite all its apparent emphasis on so-called patient choice, the UK Government has changed a once great service into a monolithic outdated business without the capability to fully embrace such exciting new initiatives as cord blood banking."

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The Lancet press office T) +44 (0)207 424 4949/4249


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