Convergence And Controversy In Medicine
Modern medicine and the technology that drives it are truly amazing. But, so are the legal and ethical issues that these technologies create. Typically, the legal world is lagging behind in terms of creating the laws, rules and guide lines that are necessary in our society. As technology and medicine advance even faster, that gap becomes all the the wider. Take for example the area of cord blood banking and research.
There is little disagreement amongst the legal community, about the value of banking cord blood. A few years ago, this procedure and it’s benefits were largely unavailable. In years past, the cord blood was simply discarded after a childs birth. It was basically, medical waste. Now, with advances in stem cell research, the potential for healing benefits is widely known. What is also understood, is that being such a new technique, the future benefits are still unknown. So, the banking of cord blood has become a popular option for many pregnant parents.
Where the difficulty comes in, is who controls and owns that cord blood. Legally the parents of the child own it, and a lot of private companies are offering to store their childs blood for them, for potential future use. The medical community, generally prefers the blood to be stored in a public blood bank. While they may have a more holistic view of the issue, we as individuals still control our own bodies, and the decision is ours as to what happens to it. That cannot, and should not be changed.
April 23 2010 06:07 pm | Featured and Uncategorized