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Life saving centre to close
An Edgware clinic that stores blood collected from umbilical chords of newborn babies is to close - just months after issuing its 200th life-saving unit.
The NHS Cord Blood Centre, in Deansbrook Road, Edgware, will move to Filton, near Bristol, in a national overhaul of the blood service.
The centre was established in 1996 to process, test and store the blood, which is collected from a handful of hospitals, including Barnet Hospital, in Wellhouse Lane, Barnet.
The closure comes after the 200th unit was transplanted to a man in his 40s with leukemia in April.
The 199th unit went to a young baby with a severely impaired immune system.
A laboratory at the Colindale Blood Centre, Colindale Avenue, is also being moved to Filton.
Lynda Hamlyn, chief executive of NHS Blood and Transplant Service, said there could be up to 30 job losses from the two centres.
However, she scotched claims by the union Unite that there would be massive job losses and that the move could jeopardise the health of ethnic minority communities.
"There is no question of any patients being put at risk by these changes and it is highly irresponsible to suggest otherwise," she said.
"This is a clear attempt to mislead patients, hospitals and the public about changes which are being undertaken following rigorous analysis to improve the services we provide to patients and the NHS."
Cord blood can be donated by mothers after the birth of their children and extracted from the umbilical cord and placenta in a harmless procedure. It is considered particularly useful because it contains a high proportion of stem cells.
The stem cells from cord blood restore the function of the patient's immune and blood producing systems and are an alternative to using bone marrow.
And a less close blood match with the donor is neededthan for a bone marrow transplant.
There is a much better chance of patients finding a good match from donors of the same ethnic background and a proportionally low number of people from black and ethnic minority communities on the marrow donor register.
As a result, the NHS Blood Service selected the hospitals that collect cord blood due to the high number of patients they serve from those communities, which are all in the vicinity of Edgware.
A spokesman for the NHS Blood Service said the hospitals would continue to collect cord blood.
9:11am Wednesday 21st May 2008
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CommentPosted by: DIANE STEEL, Harrow on 11:07am Wed 28 May 08
Does this mean cord blood collected from our local hospitals has to be transported to bristol. Surely in this climate of green issues it is ridiculous that it is being transported all that way when the facilities are available locally.
Does this mean cord blood collected from our local hospitals has to be transported to bristol. Surely in this climate of green issues it is ridiculous that it is being transported all that way when the facilities are available locally.
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