New rules come into force for collection of cord blood

Tag : uk cord
New rules came into force today (5 July) that will require thecollection of cord blood to take place under the authority of alicence from the Human Tissue Authority. This is the first timethat collection of cord blood at birth has been regulated in theUK, and the new regulation puts the safety of mother and childfirst. The trend of collecting cord blood in public or privatebanks for potential medical applications, including the treatmentof leukaemia, has grown more popular in recent years. The new rulesmean that cord blood can only be collected by people withspecialist training and on premises that meet essential standards.

All maternity units, or third parties engaged to collect cord bloodwill need to act under a Human Tissue Authority (HTA) licence thatwill ensure:

Staff have training in collecting cord blood, raising standards andmaking sure that best possible quality of sample is taken.

Procedures which will help prevent any medical attention beingdrawn away from mother or child during collection.

The risk of contamination to the sample is minimised

A system is in place to make sure that the cord blood cells aretraceable from collection to their use in treatments.

Sandy Mather, Director of Regulation at the Human Tissue Authority,said:
“We have been measured and proportionate in the way that wehave implemented this regulation. We aim to put patient safetyfirst, while making it as simple as possible for professionals tobecome compliant with the new rules. We have done our best to helpand advise professionals who think they may need to apply for alicence, and have helped many through the applicationprocess.”