Alberta couple raises contamination concerns as Health Canada cracks down on cord blood clinic – CBC
Facility founder says federal inspectors were misinformed of repository rules
Feb 16, 2024
For Carly and Ben Seligman, banking their two children’s umbilical cord blood felt like investing in medical insurance.
The Calgary couple no longer trust that the potentially life-saving stem cells they have spent thousands of dollars to preserve remain viable or safe.
“Collecting and banking the cord blood felt like this sort of one-time opportunity to leave future medical doors open for your child,” Carly Seligman said in an interview.
“You want to try and give your child every opportunity.”
The Seligmans say they have spent more than $3,900 to store the umbilical cord blood of their two children, now 12 and nine years old, at the Canadian Cord Blood bioRepository (CCBR) in west Edmonton.
More than three months after Health Canada issued a public health warning about the facility, the regulator says the operation remains in contravention of health safety standards.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-cord-blood-bank-health-canada-warning-1.7116322
