The Ethical Challenges of Cord Blood Banking: A Narrative Review

Introduction & Purpose: Cord stem cells are proliferative and differentiated cells that can be used for therapeutic and research purposes. The use of cord blood storage for stem cell use has increased in recent years. However, the challenges associated with it have not yet been resolved. The purpose of this review study was to examine the ethical considerations surrounding cord blood banking.Materials and Methods: This narrative review was performed by searching Keywords including Blood Cord and Ethics in three electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Magiran, from beginning of 2014 until the end of 2018.Results: a total of 159 articles were found and finally, 10 articles were included Currently, cord blood banking has become commercially available and there are a number of ethical challenges associated with it. These include the possibility of transferring genetic diseases, cancer and congenital immunodeficiency through autologous donation. Another challenge is its cost and inability to be used by all segments of society. Another important issue concerns the profitability of this technology.Conclusion: Cord blood storage is not harmful for mothers and infants and is not morally problematic, but considering the ethical challenges facing cord blood banking, developing ethical frameworks using the opinions of experts such as jurists and jurists is essential.

Keywords:

Ethical Challenges , Blood Cord , Narrative Review