Risks 'taken' in illegal cord blood collections

Parents, hospitals and private firms are being warned over risky and illegal collections of umbilical cord blood.

The Human Tissue Authority said if proper guidelines were not followed samples may be contaminated and safety compromised on maternity wards.
The regulator has received reports of untrained and unlicensed people taking the blood - with one sample even obtained in a hospital car park. The blood is sought because of its potential role in combating disease. It is a rich source of stem cells, which are used to help treat diseases such as leukaemia.

But some believe the potential of stem cells goes much further. Stem cells can been used to create many different types of tissue and, in theory, could be used to repair and replace damaged organs as well as treating diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to cancer.
Due to the growing interest in the issue, the HTA started regulating cord blood collection in July 2008. Since then its routine monitoring of sample collection has raised some worrying findings, according to the regulator.

To read the full story click HERE to visit the BBC Health Website.

But what is Cord Blood and how is it used?Watch this to find out :-)





Liquid Gold ? Oh no, this is far more precious than that.
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Twin study sheds light on leukaemia

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Published on Friday Feb 26 15:06:26 GMT 2010

Many national newspapers reported today on the story of Isabella and Olivia, four-year-old identical twins who have “unlocked the secret of leukaemia”. The papers describe how one twin was diagnosed with leukaemia and underwent chemotherapy, whereas the other twin did not develop the disease. Their unique situation of being identical twins who've had the same environment since they were conceived gave researchers an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the causes of leukaemia.

When researchers compared their bone marrow, they found that both girls had pre-leukaematic stem cells (which carry a genetic defect). However, Olivia (the twin who developed leukaemia) also carried a second mutation – a missing gene – that switched pre-leukaemia cells into full-blown leukaemia.

The Times reported that "the discovery will enable doctors to screen young leukaemia patients to establish the severity of their illness and spare some of the harrowing side effects of aggressive chemotherapy”.

The research behind these stories is an investigation of identical twins and a further laboratory study in mice that was inspired by the differences between them.

The causes of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (the most common childhood form) remain largely unknown. There has been a previous suggestion of some genetic link (with slightly increased risk in children with Down's syndrome, for example), in addition to theories about risks from radiation, drugs or infections. The study gives new insight into the mechanisms involved in the development of leukaemia in children, and opens up a new area for further study. Doctors and researchers will be particularly interested in the findings that pre-leukaemia cells could be used to screen for the disease and that further mutations appear to be needed to switch these on.

Until further research is done, it is unclear what strategies could be followed to prevent conversion to the full-blown disease, or whether this knowledge might have any influence upon the treatment of childhood leukaemia.

Story sourced via the Grantham Journal.Click HERE to visit their website.

Nerve agents could be to blame for tripling of child leukaemia in Basra

Rates of leukaemia in children around the Basra area of Southern Iraq have almost tripled in the last 15 years according to calculations by public health experts. Research published in the American Journal of Public Health documents 698 cases of leukaemia among children under the age of 15 in the period to 2007. There was a peak of 211 cases in 2006.

Rates increased from three to almost 8.5 cases of the disease per 100,000 children over the time period. This is more than double the rate of leukaemia in the European Union.

The researchers, who studied hospital cancer registries in Basra, said that more analysis was now need to identify triggers for the surge. They speculated that increased exposure to substances related to childhood leukaemia might be responsible — such as byproducts of regional petroleum fires and benzene, which comes from gasoline sold by children at the side of the road as a result of disrupted fuel supplies. War-related nerve agents and pesticides, and the widespread use of depleted uranium munitions, might also be factors, they said.

For the full report click HERE to see the Times On-line Web page.

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