cord blood and gene therapy

Dear Andy,

We had stored my sons cord blood at birth but had been told it was of no use as he does have thalassemia. So as per the doctors advice we had informed the provider that we do not wish to keep it. Now after two years they have called and asked us to fax them a filled out form either giving them permission to destroy them or to donate them to research. It feels like a second chance as I have been wondering whether they would come in useful if at some stage gene therapy is possible. A bone marrow transplant has been ruled out b/c there is no matching donor. Do you think the cord blood could be used for gene therapy or in any other way?

Looking forward to your advice.

Zahra

Zahra,

With the current method of gene therapy that is slowly progressing into trials, cord blood would probably have no value, as the stem cells have to be stimulated within the patient, so that there are sufficient numbers in which to insert the good genes. I cannot say for certain that some use may or may not be found in the future, as medicine is advancing so rapidly. If the cost of storage is high, a decision to donate them for research would be understandable.