Despite debate over whether umbilical cord stem cells can be used to treat diseases, Hong Kong's three storage banks are reporting high growth rates as parents opt for insurance on future cures.
CordLife's clientele doubled, and Cryolife and HealthBaby Biotech saw 50 per cent year-on-year growth as of the end of last month, taking the total number of people using private cord blood banks from 5,800 to 9,500, figures provided by the banks show.
Cord blood banks collect blood from a newborn's umbilical cord and store stem cells extracted from it, which banks say can be used to treat heart diseases, immune deficiencies and blood disorders. Clients pay from HK$11,500 to HK$28,000 for one to 18 years' storage.
CordLife, a Singapore-based, Australian-listed private cord blood bank, opened an office in Kowloon yesterday as a venue for educational talks about cord blood banking, saying there was increasing demand in Hong Kong. It opened its first office in Wan Chai in March 2005.
'It's a trend,' said Ha Shau-yin, a consultant to the University of Hong Kong's department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine. 'Parents want to buy it as insurance.'
Cryolife sales and marketing manager Sierra Ma Pui-kwan said: 'There is room for this to grow. Even if we were the only ones [offering banking], we would not be able to fulfil all of the demand.'