Media

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Doctor

Australia

"Umbilical cord tissue newborn babies: cryogenically frozen for stem cell medicine"

Source: Daily Telegraph

Published: 21 May 2012

Category: Surgical Procedure

Rating: (2 stars)

Keywords: cord tissue cryogenic frozen stem cell

what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

IT'S current preservation for future regeneration - and now umbilical cord tissue is going on ice in Australia for the first time.

The original article can be found at: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/umbilical-cord-tissue-from-newborn-babies-is-being-collected-and-cryogenically-frozen-to-be-used-for-stem-cell-medicine/story-e6frf00i-1226361513964

how did it rate? (more information)

Criteria	Rating
Total Score	3 of 8
Novelty of Treatment	Satisfactory (?)
Availability of Treatment	Satisfactory (?)
Treatment Options	Not Satisfactory (?)
Disease Mongering	Satisfactory (?)
Evidence	Not Satisfactory (?)
Quantification of Benefits of Treatment	Not Satisfactory (?)
Harms of Treatment	Not Applicable
Costs of Treatment	Not Satisfactory (?)
Sources of Information	Not Satisfactory (?)
Relies on Press Release	Not Applicable

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This story reads like a promotion for commercial tissue banking services. The private company offering the service is named, and hyperlinked. There is no mention of the upfront and annual fees charged for this service. There is also no mention of the very real possibility that umbilical cord tissue may be no better for future regenerative procedures than a biopsy sample that could be collected at any time in the person's life and used without freezing.

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