Writing to over 150 organisations, the HTA is voicing its concerns about collecting cord blood without a licence after numerous incidents where parents collected cord blood unlawfully and where medical staff felt pressured to collect cord blood without following the necessary procedures and without specialist training.

Since July 2008, cord blood can only be collected by trained staff under a HTA licence, or where appropriate, a third-party agreement with a HTA-licensed establishment. In addition, those collecting cord blood must be appropriately trained, to ensure the collection takes place safely, and that the sample is not contaminated and is safe to use.

The HTA has written letters to maternity units, licensed establishments and professional bodies providing advice and guidance on cord blood collecting regulations, as well as making the information and legal requirements available for parents and professionals on its website.

The RCM’s deputy general secretary Louise Silverton said: ‘The RCM supports this work as it helps ensure that midwives are able to focus their full attention on caring for the mother and baby. The time during birth when cord blood is collected is one of the riskiest times, in terms of safety. Therefore, it is essential that midwives are able to concentrate on the birth and are not put under pressure to carry out unregulated and unlawful cord blood collections.

‘If parents are thinking about cord blood banking, they need to discuss this with their midwife, or other health professional, to find out if collection is viable. Organising collection by a specialist trained professional can take time, so parents should not wait until close to their due date to begin organising a collection.’

For more information about the HTA got to: www.hta.gov.uk