CBA Florida Inc. (fka CBAI)

[dianebRN]

Kurtzberg answered the question about using a child's own cells later in the article. I think she is just saying one size doesn't fit all. Not meant to be as broad as private umbilical cell storage not a good thing. If you read the article closely you will see that the opinions expressed are those of multiple physicians not Kurtzman only. It is hard to follow who says what in that respect.

For example, if a child develops leukemia, there are usually leukemia cells in the cord blood, making them inappropriate for a transplant, transplant experts say. Or if a child has a genetic disorder, such as sickle cell, that same problematic DNA lies in the cord blood cells, rendering them useless.

In fact she talks later about an experimental application still in process.

Kurtzberg says she is using children's own cord blood cells experimentally to see if they can help treat cerebral palsy or brain damage caused by low oxygen at birth.

"We're in the middle of our study, so we don't know yet if it works," she says.

Physicians will argue about cutting edge technology until additional research leads them to best practice in the field. IMO the fact that 5 or 6 physician scientists offer viewpoints in this one article shows that there is significant interest in the field.