Storing umbilical cord blood for tens of thousands of yuan, is this really a commercial scam involving "stupid people with lots of money"?

Produced by | Eye Health is Real

Author | Chen Zhenzhen

1. Umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells have medical value. Some unqualified institutions on the market take advantage of pregnant women's anxiety and their poor understanding of umbilical cord blood, exaggerate their publicity, and make huge profits by storing umbilical cord blood.

2. Currently, there are only 7 formal and legal umbilical cord blood storage institutions in China, and the umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells stored in them are available for clinical use.

"I always thought it was someone from the hospital. Later, after the baby was born, I was still in the delivery room. The midwife asked me what to do with the placenta. I asked if I could store the umbilical cord blood, and she said the hospital did not have this service." Huihui, who lives in Hefei City, told Yanjianweishi that when she was having a prenatal check-up at a local hospital, she met someone in a white coat who introduced to her the benefits of storing umbilical cord blood. Later she learned that the "white coat" was not a medical staff member from the hospital, but a salesperson who stored umbilical cord blood at his own expense.

"When I accompanied my wife for a prenatal check-up, I received a leaflet on umbilical cord blood storage. The consultant said it can be stored for 20 years and can be used by the whole family. The one-time payment is 19,000 yuan, and an insurance policy is also given." The expectant father Xiao Deng told Yanjianweishi that he had read some information online and asked friends who have children, but he is still undecided whether to store it.

Umbilical cord blood refers to the blood remaining in the placenta and umbilical cord after the fetus is delivered and the umbilical cord is tied and severed. It is rich in hematopoietic stem cells and can rebuild the blood system and immune system and save the patient's life. This medical value has made the business of storing umbilical cord blood at one's own expense increasingly popular.

The value of umbilical cord blood is undeniable, but there are strict standards for both storage and application. At present, there are a lot of mixed umbilical cord blood storage institutions on the market. Some expectant mothers and fathers are misled by sales staff of certain companies or choose unqualified storage institutions without detailed information, resulting in the stored umbilical cord blood cannot be used legally, wasting both money and precious resources.

What is the use of umbilical cord blood? Should we store it? Should we spend money to store it or donate it directly? Where should we store or donate it? There are many questions about umbilical cord blood in front of prospective parents, and before making a decision, they should probably know more.

Umbilical cord blood has high medical value, but it is not a cure-all

Umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation technology can indeed treat a variety of diseases, especially blood system diseases. According to the "Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Technology Management Specifications (2017 Edition)" issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the sources of hematopoietic stem cells include bone marrow, peripheral blood or umbilical cord blood from blood-related (HLA fully matched or haplotype matched) and non-blood-related donors. The indications for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation technology are mainly divided into blood system diseases such as acute leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia, severe radiation sickness, as well as some genetic diseases, congenital diseases, and metabolic diseases.

Screenshot from "Technical Management Specifications for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (2017 Edition)"

But in the mouths of some salespeople, umbilical cord blood seems to be a panacea, and the scope and effects of treatment are exaggerated, as if "there is no need to let the child down."

Under the right conditions, umbilical cord blood can really save lives. But this does not mean that umbilical cord blood is a panacea for all diseases.

Wei Zhizhang, Secretary General of the Cell and Health Professional Committee of the Guangdong Biotechnology Industrialization Promotion Association, said in an interview with the media that some patients with congenital or hereditary diseases often carry defective pathogenic genes in their autologous umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells. In this case, autologous umbilical cord blood cannot be used for treatment, and it is also not suitable to preserve umbilical cord blood. Preserving umbilical cord blood requires that pregnant women do not have malignant tumors and various hereditary diseases, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, AIDS and other infectious diseases, no serious complications during pregnancy, and no family history of hereditary diseases.

Deliberately concealing potential problems in subsequent use and undertaking the umbilical cord blood storage business without qualifications

For prospective parents, storing or donating umbilical cord blood is an option. It is important to choose a formal and qualified storage institution based on the principle of full knowledge.

After an inquiry by Yanjianweishi, we learned that umbilical cord blood banks are special blood stations in my country. Currently, there are only seven legal umbilical cord blood banks in China that have been approved by the National Health Commission and hold a "Blood Station Practice License". They are the umbilical cord blood banks in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shandong, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Guangdong. They are also umbilical cord blood storage institutions with the qualifications for umbilical cord blood collection, preservation and clinical supply.

According to the regulations, each province and city can only establish one cord blood bank, and cord blood cannot be collected from other places. In other words, each cord blood bank can only provide cord blood collection services for the families of mothers who give birth in hospitals within the province or city where they are located.

A legal umbilical cord blood bank is a mixed bank of "public banks" and "autologous banks" operated by social capital (enterprises) commissioned by the state. Public banks accept donations and preserve them free of charge; autologous banks require payment for umbilical cord blood preservation, which is mainly for one's own use or that of relatives.

Screenshot from Beijing Umbilical Cord Blood Bank official website

Eye Health called the Shandong Cord Blood Bank to confirm the matter. The staff said that the Shandong Cord Blood Bank was approved by the National Health Commission and is the only formal and legal cord blood storage institution in the province. Cord blood can only be collected when giving birth in hospitals in Shandong Province. Women can choose to donate or store their own cord blood. Regardless of the storage method, the mother must meet the corresponding physical conditions.

In addition, EyeHealth found that in addition to the provinces and cities where the above-mentioned 7 cord blood banks are located, some other provinces also have institutions that claim to be able to collect and store cord blood. EyeHealth contacted several cell technology companies in Hunan, Anhui, Hebei and other places through web advertising information, and the customer service staff all said that the company has the business of storing cord blood at its own expense and does not accept donations.

In fact, when some sales staff in white coats promote the self-paid storage of umbilical cord blood in hospitals, people may mistake them for hospital staff and be easily deceived into "ordering". On the other hand, sales staff often avoid the important issues in their introductions, not mentioning donations, and not talking about some qualification issues for subsequent use.

Discussions on social media about cord blood salespeople

On the social platform, a netizen complained that his sister-in-law was almost fooled by a salesperson to spend 100,000 yuan to store umbilical cord blood. The salesperson introduced to his sister-in-law that since the child was a premature baby and had some risks of congenital diseases, umbilical cord blood was the only treatment for certain diseases, and storing umbilical cord blood was very necessary... The netizen said that fortunately the family arrived in time and asked the salesperson about the umbilical cord blood storage qualifications. The salesperson hesitated and could not answer. The family said they would call the police, and the salesperson directly returned the money and ran away.

In the experience of the netizen's sister-in-law mentioned above, there are two main points worth our attention:

First of all, you don’t have to wait until after giving birth to prepare for the storage of umbilical cord blood. There is a strict and standardized process for storing umbilical cord blood, which is mainly divided into five steps: [Contact consultation] Contact the local legal umbilical cord blood bank before delivery → [Health registration, contract signing] Sign the "Umbilical Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Storage Agreement" after the physical examination and evaluation is qualified → [Delivery collection] → The pregnant woman notifies the umbilical cord blood bank consultant by phone as soon as she is admitted to the hospital, and informs the midwife that she wants to store the umbilical cord blood herself → [Professional transportation] After collection, the staff arranges constant temperature equipment to transport the umbilical cord blood to the umbilical cord blood bank laboratory within 24 hours → [Accept follow-up] After the laboratory testing and processing procedures, it will take about 60 working days to confirm whether the umbilical cord blood meets the storage standards. If the umbilical cord blood test fails, the remaining fees will be refunded after deducting part of the testing fees.

Secondly, if you want to protect your rights and interests, you must choose a formal, legal and qualified umbilical cord blood bank.

In April 2022, the Medical Reform and Administration Bureau of the National Health Commission issued the "National Restricted Technology Catalog and Clinical Application Management Specifications (2022 Edition)", of which the "Clinical Application Management Specifications for Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Technology" clearly stipulates that medical institutions should carry out hematopoietic stem cell transplantation technology in accordance with their functions, tasks and technical capabilities, and have a legal source of hematopoietic stem cells. The source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation must be legal, and umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells should be provided by an umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cell bank approved by the National Health Commission. In other words, only umbilical cord blood provided by a regular and legal umbilical cord blood bank can be used by hospitals for treatment.

Some umbilical cord blood storage institutions do not have formal qualifications. In this case, if there is a need for use in the future, the umbilical cord blood cannot be used legally. Previously, there were media reports on related cases where a couple encountered a "black company" when storing umbilical cord blood, which made the umbilical cord blood unable to be used clinically, so they took the "black company" to court.

"In fact, even if I save it at my own expense, I don't want to use it in the future. No one wants their children or family members to get sick, so I want to have a backup, but I'm worried that I'll spend a lot of money and they won't preserve it well in the end." Xiao Jing told Yanjianweishi that whether the umbilical cord blood can be well stored is a problem she is more worried about.

Xiaojing's concerns are not without reason. In fact, in addition to the fact that it cannot be used legally, there is also a question mark as to whether the technical environment and conditions for umbilical cord blood storage in unqualified institutions can pass the test. At this point, you must have a question: In this case, why do they dare to sign a contract and promise compensation? In fact, what they are betting on is a probability. Even for legal umbilical cord blood banks, the proportion of umbilical cord blood stored at their own expense is not high. In 2016, Deng Yue, CEO of Beijing Umbilical Cord Blood Bank, said in an interview with the media that in more than ten years since its establishment, the storage volume of Beijing's autologous umbilical cord blood bank has reached 200,000 units, 15 of which have been used clinically for themselves and their relatives, while the public bank that relies on donations to store umbilical cord blood has stored more than 20,000 units and has been used in more than 700 cases.

Driven by commercial interests, more umbilical cord blood is directed to autologous banks, and some unqualified institutions have seized the opportunity to make profits. In order to better play the public welfare role of umbilical cord blood banks, relevant national departments issued the "Notice on Extending the Planning and Establishment Time of Umbilical Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Banks", stating that except for the 7 umbilical cord blood banks established before 2020, no new ones will be added. At the same time, the national umbilical cord blood bank will be actively prepared.

In the final analysis, everyone should have a scientific understanding of umbilical cord blood. It is useful, but it is not a panacea. If you want to store your own umbilical cord blood, you need to beware of the exaggerated propaganda of some unqualified institutions and choose a formal and legal umbilical cord blood storage institution, so that your rights and interests can be protected. Of course, you can also donate your child's umbilical cord blood to a public blood bank, so that more people in need can find a match in the public blood bank and save lives at a critical moment.

The interviewees in this article are all pseudonyms

References:

[1] Technical Management Specifications for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (2017 Edition)

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/s3585/201702/e1b8e0c9b7c841d49c1895ecd475d957.shtml

[2] Blood Station Management Measures

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/fzs/s3576/201808/17c156cdbff24e479eec30717f986ec8.shtml

[3] National Restricted Technology Catalogue and Clinical Application Management Specifications (2022 Edition)

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/s7657/202204/2efe9f8ca13f499c8e1f70844fe96144.shtml

[4] Pitfall Avoidance Guide: To protect your rights, please be aware of these qualifications when storing cord blood

http://www.sd.chinanews.com.cn/2/2021/1223/81605.html

[5] When Li Kui meets Li Gui, how can you protect your rights when storing umbilical cord blood?

https://read01.com/gzd6jNN.html

[6]Is umbilical cord blood a “life bank” or a commercial scam?

http://newpaper.dahe.cn/dhjkb/html/2019-09/27/content_371702.htm

[7] Self-storage of umbilical cord blood: paying an “IQ tax” or exploring a new path?

https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/166134713314225.html

[8] Is cord blood storage really useful? Beijing has stored 200,000 samples in 14 years, but only used them in 15 cases

http://gongyi.cnr.cn/news/20160222/t20160222_521427721.shtml

[9] Notice of the National Health and Family Planning Commission on Extending the Planning and Establishment Time of Umbilical Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/s3589/201601/c597266624814f438cfe0758e42e3a7b.shtml

[10] Interpretation of the Notice on Extending the Planning and Establishment Time of the Umbilical Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/s3590/201601/9490e6f7e5a942a4ba45ef55319a6068.shtml