Wealthy mothers in Thailand are racing to store the umbilical cord blood of their newborns at a laboratory in Singapore. This practice is hoped to provide a health safety net for their children, allowing for stem cell transplants in the event that they later develop blood-related diseases that could be fatal.
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| Camden Medical Center (Singapore) (Photo: kajima) |
Thai healthcare professionals report that using stem cells derived from patients’ own umbilical cord blood for treatment is not yet available in the country due to the high costs associated with cord blood storage.
Recently, during a visit to a laboratory at Camden Medical Center (Singapore), which provides umbilical cord blood storage services, Dr. Nisarat Kasatri from Samitivej Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand) indicated that about 10 to 15% of mothers, both Thai and foreign, at Samitivej are willing to pay a significant amount to transfer their children’s cord blood for storage at Camden Medical Center.
The umbilical cord blood is collected immediately after the child is born. The cost for transferring and storing the cord blood for each client is 50,000 baht in the first year and 6,000 baht for subsequent years.
The reason mothers are willing to “bite the bullet” and spend such a large amount is due to concerns that their children may later face life-threatening blood diseases such as leukemia and Thalassemia, also known as Mediterranean anemia, hemolytic anemia, genetic hypochromic anemia, and sickle cell anemia (a condition caused by abnormalities in hemoglobin synthesis, leading to a reduced lifespan of red blood cells and subsequent anemia). In those cases, doctors would extract stem cells from the umbilical cord blood to transplant into the patient’s body for treatment.
According to Dr. Nisarat, the cost of storing umbilical cord blood is higher than that of stem cell transplantation. As a result, some believe it is not worth it, as the chances of utilizing the stored cord blood are minimal, and no one wishes for their children to suffer from serious illnesses.
Mr. Steven Fang, the director of Cygenics, which operates the laboratory at Camden Medical Center and provides cord blood storage services for residents of Singapore and Thailand, stated that the storage duration for umbilical cord blood can last up to 20 years, and the company conducts annual tests to check the viability of the cells. Cord blood is only collected at the time of birth and is sufficient for a single transplant.
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| Samitivej Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand) (Photo: bangkokdentalspa) |
Mr. Fang noted that stem cells taken from a patient’s own umbilical cord blood are the best source because a perfect genetic match is necessary to regenerate damaged cells. Stored blood from one person can also be used for their siblings due to the high likelihood of genetic compatibility. Without genetic matching, the recipient’s body may reject these stem cells. Therefore, using stem cells from a completely unrelated person is much more challenging.
Sirilak Piancharoen, a healthcare worker at the National Blood Center of the Thai Red Cross, mentioned that the Center has been providing umbilical cord blood storage services since 2001 but for different purposes compared to the company in Singapore. The Center collects umbilical cord blood from over 300 donors to treat completely unrelated patients. So far, the Center has used stem cells derived from cord blood to treat three patients with blood diseases. However, according to Ms. Sirilak, the chances of successful treatment are very slim due to a genetic matching rate of 1 in 50,000. Nevertheless, storing umbilical cord blood for future use by the patient themselves is not yet common in Thailand, as the storage costs can reach up to 10,000 baht per week.
Minh Thương
