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Today, stem cells are heralded as a miraculous product of the human body, able to cure a number of killer diseases, from leukaemia to Alzheimer's. Big corporations across the globe are persuading nervous parents to privately store their offspring's stem cells, touting it as the only way to ensure a safe future for their family. But where is the line drawn between reality and wishful thinking? The primitive cells of a baby's umbilical cord blood, which until recently were just discarded, are now saving lives. Since the process was discovered in 1988 around 30,000 lives have been spared through successful transplants. Private stem cell banks across the world have been quick to commercialise this Nobel Prize winning, scientific breakthrough, declaring, "The birth of a child can now be celebrated by securing its life!"
When Tracey Dones' son was born he was unwell with osteoporosis, a condition able to be cured through stem cell treatment. "When I was pregnant, I saw all the pregnancy magazines telling parents to store their baby's cord blood in case it gets sick. So we paid to store the cord blood." Yet when Tracey told doctors about the stored stem cells, "they told me they couldn't be used. I felt crushed, deceived".
The truth is that the vast majority of those cured through stem cell treatment are not healed with their own blood, but that of an unknown public donor. "Precisely because it came from him, it had the same genetic problems that caused his condition", Tracey explains. Scientific research is increasingly suggesting that the likelihood of a child needing a transplant of its own stem cells is tiny. "The possibilities are scant: 1 in every 300,000", says leading haematologist, Elianne Gluckman. Yet prestigious scientific unions, such as the American Paediatric Society, still openly support the donation of stem cells to these private banks, arguing that relatives of the donor can make use of the cells instead.
Greece is home to the biggest number of private stem cell banks per capita in the world. Yet Antonis Dimopoulos of the Greek Ministry of Health admits, "they are operating without a specific regulatory and legal framework". Private banks are obliged to inform the parents if storage of their baby's cells is pointless, due to infections or an inadequate number of cells being collected. Yet the storage often goes ahead anyway, for "therapeutic value". "If they are used, they will kill the patient", warns Professor Georgios Stamatogianopoulos.
In France, where it all began, private banks are now illegal and the exportation of cord blood for private storage abroad is also legally prosecuted. Stem cells are considered a national resource and they encourage donations to public, shared banks over private corporations. Emmanuelle Prada-Bordenave, director of French Biomedical Services argues, "We are born into a society. It's not the case that each baby comes with its own repair kit. Private companies sell dreams and promises, and they do so at a high price".
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Yorgos Avgeropoulos was born in Athens in 1971. He has covered news stories of great interest and importance, working as a journalist for most of the major Greek TV channels. As a war correspondent for many years, he has traveled extensively in Bosnia, Croatia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Palestine. The work of Avgeropoulos has been recognized by state organizations and NGOs and he has received much acclaim and many awards.
Exandas has been participating in international festivals for many years and has been awarded the 'Best investigative and documentary Greek TV programs' award seven times as well as the Faro D' Oro (The Golden Lighthouse) Prize at the XII International Prize for Mediterranean Documentary and Reportage, Cagliari - Sardine, Italy, 2007. News stories and documentaries presented by Exandas have also inspired university research and have been discussed in conferences. |
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