Parents should think twice before spending money on storing their baby's umbilical cord blood, which may turn out to be of little or no use and the application of which is not regulated, a consumer watchdog says.
Stem cells can be taken from cord blood and can already help heal leukaemia and various blood diseases.
Private blood banks, which are becoming more popular in Hong Kong, say cord blood can be used to treat over 80 diseases, and to repair tissue.
But only a few diseases are clinically proven to be successfully cured through stem cell treatment, the Consumer Council says.
Cells from a particular body part cannot develop into cells for other uses, according to the International Society for Stem Cell Research. And research could find greater potential in stem cells of embryos, but it is unlikely that they could be used directly for curing diseases, it said.
Dr Tse Hung-hing, former president of the Medical Association, said the chance of using stored blood was low.
Most patients are given a transfusion of a third party's blood, not their own, he said. 'If it's a hereditary disease, then the patient's stem cells will be problematic too,' he said.
