In Singapore, experts estimated that the chance of families using privately banked cord blood as between 0.005 per cent and 0.04 per cent, compared to 2.2 per cent in a public bank, according to a 2016 TODAY article.
Were parents oversold the potential for cord blood use during the free consultation they are often pushed towards at medical visits? At least one parent told me they now felt “suckered” into it.
It seems that children might be better protected, their future better secured, if more parents donated to a public cord blood bank instead – something I regret not doing.
PARENTS ONLY WANT WHAT’S BEST
But I understand why some parents sign up for private cord blood banking. After all, parents only want what’s best for their children.
But this makes us susceptible to those using that narrative to sell us stuff – and there is a lot of stuff for sale, from the right food to boost health and the correct toys to enhance development to the best classes to ensure they don’t fall behind their peers. Until reined in in 2019, infant formula manufacturers could make nutritional and health claims in advertisements and use idealised images to suggest intellectual potential or enhanced ability.
