Welcome to Umbilical Cord Blood Banking
Cord Blood Banking Ethics
There has been much controversy surrounding umbilical cord blood banking and stem cell harvesting as the technology has evolved and some people believe some of the processes to be unethical and immoral.
Cord blood banking involves the cord blood stem cells being harvested from a child's umbilical cord shortly after delivery. The process is painless and simple and in no way interferes with the health of the child. Although there are a minority that do not agree with the process, most people do not have a problem with it and do not believe it is unethical.
Embryonic stem cells are harvested from fertilised eggs that are in the early stages of development. Embryonic stem cells have a much greater ability to differentiate into other types of cells, but many people have ethical and moral issues with the source of the stem cells as they would have had the potential to develop into a foetus.
Human cloning is also a controversial subject, and one that many people have ethical and moral issues about.