This story horrifies me. Obviously there was little research done to prepare this broadcast . There is no mention of the fact that couples of mixed races have almost no chance of finding a cord blood stem cell match. Not to mention the lengthly time involved in locating a matching donor. Furthermore, the fact that cord blood saves many lives each year was skimmed over. Perhaps your 5 minute blurb has cost a couple their child's life! Of course the private cord blood banks utlize pathos to convince parents to store their child's umbiilical cord blood, they are a company after all! The fact still remains that umbilical cod blood stem cells are not being used to they're full potential in this country. To discourage parents from storing their child's potentially lifesaving umbilical cord blood is unacceptable and despicable.

I have seldom witnessed a more unbalanced report.While it is true that most of our children will live their lives unaffected by the many diseases which cord blood stem cells are used to cure,for those whose lives have been saved no amount of money is too much. Parents should do their own research. Not only do I question the stated statistic of matching cord blood stem cells being available from so called public banks in the U.S. in 95% of cases of need, no mention was made of the cost to our health care system of purchasing these samples - about $30,000 USD per sample. And this is only for diseases that are commonly treated today - what about the potential for treatment of many more diseases in the future. Canada is way behind the rest of the world in cord blood transplants; for example, in Japan 80% of stem cell transplants are from cord blood. Marketplace - YOU'VE BEEN BUSTED!

the story has absolutely no statistical support nor any evidents on their claim.

i'm interested to see what is the number of sick children in both Canada, US or other countries which have used the core blood to save their life. Also the cost associated with an operation with the American Bank for a Canadian citizen.

Ken

I decided to store the stem cells but I did my homework and, like everything else we buy in this world, I looked through the marketing and reviewed the facts. The company I went with offered us information sessions and a tour of their lab. You should see it. Equipment and safety measures and people there all had Master's and PhD degrees. They are taking stem cells out of blood to be used for people when they are sickest. It isn't easy nor cheap. I looked at the public banks too. There was no question in my mind that these cells treat diseases. There was a list of diseases that can use your own cells and those that would need someone else's. The private bank list was the same as the public bank. It cost me 3 installments of $300. Sure, tell people to do their homework and watch the marketing but don't say all the companies are evil and preying on stupid parents. We do have a brain!

I feel sick after reading this! Such a LACK of research has clearly been done here! First off let me tell you this, I have a 9 month old son who has type 1 diabetes, He is currently in Hospital fighting for his life cause it was misdiagnosed for so long! As many as three million Americans have type 1 and each year, more than 15,000 children - 40 per day - are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the U.S and you’re telling it will never be used?? Are you kidding!! I feel cheated and mislead from my doctor who told me saving my Childs cord blood was not needed. Only to be ASKED after my child was diagnosed if we had saved it to find out now it could have been used treat his Diabetes. Shame shame on you marketplace!! You are misleading poor parents who actually have no clue just what cord blood is being used for!! Cancer is only one of MANY things it’s treating. Now I sit for the rest, however long that may be of my Childs life and feel guilt FOR NOT doing my own research, to all the parents reading this my advice to you is keep reading g up, cause clearly this is incorrect info. I hope I have helped someone out there from not having to deal with what we are.

This Bio-Medical Science has been in North America for over 20 years and is responsible for saving thousands of young lives, that's fact. In Canada this science is still in its infancy, evolving every day, especially in Ontario where the transplant community is investing in education. The impact cord blood will have in the future treating childhood disease, matching siblings or treating the elderly is where our hope lies. Parents should seek evidence based cord blood banks that are FACT and AABB Accredited.
regards
Gary James

I think the bigger picture and positive spin on this story is truly the parents and their children that have used their cord blood stem cells and are recovering or have recovered from their illness.

Cord blood banks are not trying to guilt parents into this decision. They are there to educate and allow people to know that this is an option for them. Wether they decide to do this or not is up to them.

As for cost, it still boggles me to this day that people wonder if the money is worth spending. Most people I know will spend this much money a year on buying coffee at Starbucks or on a big screen TV and don't even blink an eye.

Storing cord blood (in one form or another) and using it to treat certain diseases in the child is not entirely a new science. At least not in Africa. Some African communities have used this as part of traditional medicare for centuries. It is good that western science is beginning to embrace it. However more research and validation may be necessary to make it a mainstream option.

Instalment 2: And let me leave with one last thought… I think people tend to think about the associated cost, and that it’s a lot to pay for something that’s not ‘definite’. I’ve also heard of people paralleling it to purchasing educational savings plans. If we (my partner & I) decide to go ahead with it, I will tell you that it’s with the forethought & hope that the money will essentially be ‘wasted’. I don’t want my kid to EVER be in need of its use. We would only go ahead with it being in a strong financial situation, able to afford it. We will likely do some financial education planning for our child, who knows what ‘form’ it will take… What we do know is that whatever educational fund we choose has absolutely NO potential of saving our child’s life, ever. Again, I’m still undecided, but think everyone should carefully weigh ALL the options and make appropriate comparisons.

1 of 2: Thank you Marketplace; great info. Just a little caution for everyone watching: remember what Marketplace is actually saying. They “busted” private banks for “inaccurate marketing”. They certainly did NOT bust them for having no value. I encourage everyone to make an informed decision. This info should compliment a variety of information parents have gathered. I think it’s as dangerous to base your decision on a 5-minute blurb that could be interpreted as “equally as misleading”, if viewers aren’t careful in how the information is absorbed. If you think Marketplace is saying, “Cord Blood Banking is in some way a scam”, I think you’ve missed the message. I remain on the fence, but am glad for the additional knowledge from this short piece. I will leave with the notion that I should be weary of the broad claims that cord blood banks may make. (Continued in instalment 2…)

I am so very, very happy that you showed this story. Like one of the Moms in the story, my husband and I are 'sitting on the fence'. For the past few months, I have had serious doubts as to whether we should or shouldn’t, and I honestly have felt that I would be a ‘bad parent grossly depriving my child’ if I don’t bank our cord blood. The two main issues we’ve had? Cost and is it really worth it? For the previous poster, it’s obvious that she made the right decision, and I congratulate her and I’m honestly very happy that things worked out for her. But seriously, how much more of a positive spin do you want or need on cord blood? Just pick up a brochure - there you get spin and guilt too! Thank you Marketplace. We watch you every week, and now we’ll sleep a lot more soundly, toss the 4+ cord blood banking brochures on our bedside pile, and put the money saved in to an RESP. Sho

Re-Stem cell

I don't think you researched this story fairly. You made them all look like a bunch of crooks.
You only talked to one Doctor.
You didn't look into the private companies involved to see if they are accredited by the AABB and if they are not then, find out why. In order to be accredited they must be backed up by scientific proof.
You gave the impression that they are growing organs instead of growing tissue on damaged organs to repair them.
So, I challenge you to do a proper job and research some of these private companies that you showed on TV instead of lumping them all together. You must know by now that there are always ethical ways of doing things but someone has to jump on the bandwagon and spoil all the good that has been done.
Yours truly,
Joan Lilly

When my grandson became sick his sisters cord blood saved his life. Where was the positive side to your story and why go to B.C. for comments when there are doctors right here in Ontario that would promote cord blood banking?

Get the ALL facts before you do a story.

I think that your show should have done a little more research on the topic of cord blood banking. From a personal perspective, we saved AND used our childs cord blood for a bone marrow transplant for our other child. Yes it does cost some money to collect and store, however if you find yourself in the position that you need it, you will be so thankful that you have it. There is always two sides to every story and you definately DID NOT do your homework when it comes to the positive impact of cord blood banking