Amniotic Fluid Banking

[superfan1]

ATLANTA - It sounds like science fiction. Doctors are using fluid taken from the womb to try to grow body parts. Amniotic stems cells collected during routine prenatal testing could one day be a source for replacement organs.

Comments

[chaya]

Bullshit religious types concocting a reason this shouldn't be allowed in 10... 9...

[primroseburrows]

Note to misinformed TV news woman: amniocentesis is definitely not "routine prenatal testing".

[brewsternorth]

Quite. It's one of a number of tests that *may* be performed prenatally but *only* if necessary. (Wonder if there's a way to harvest amniotic fluid for this bank other than through amniocentesis? Presumably not...)

[primroseburrows]

I doubt there is. Amniotic stem cells are a great idea, but I can see people wanting it done and docs making up medical reasons for the amnio that don't really exist, kind of like they already do with C-sections.

[brewsternorth]

Good point. Probably better off trying to get more people to bank cord blood wherever possible (which is also high in stem-cells iirc).

[tiger0range]

I just realized something... The hospital that banked my son's stem cells during his birth was Catholic run...

I'm not sure how the policy goes, but it doesn't seem to affect day to day operations as far as the local hospitals are concerned.