§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the number of cord blood units held in each of the cord blood banks in the UK; [94420]
(2) what is the target for the number of units of cord blood to be held by each cord blood bank; what progress is being made towards achieving the target; [94422]
(3) what is the present level of stocks held by the cord blood service at Edgware; and if he will make a statement. [94820]
442W
§ Mr. DenhamThe actual and target number of units of cord blood held in each of the National Blood Service banks is:
Bank Donations Targets London 3,159 10,000 Newcastle 500 1,000 Bristol 749 1,500 Total 4,408 12,500
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the percentage of cord blood stocks held at each cord blood bank, broken down by ethnic group. [94419]
§ Mr. DenhamThe percentage of cord blood stocks by ethnic group held by the National Blood Service is as follows:
- European Caucasoid—67 per cent.
- Non-European Caucasoid—21 per cent.
- African and Afro-Caribbean—9 per cent.
- Oriental—1.5 per cent.
- Others—1.5 per cent.
The majority of non-caucasoid donations are stored at the London cord blood bank based in Edgware.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Health over the last three years, to which countries overseas cord blood has been made available from the UK. [94418]
§ Mr. DenhamOver the last three years, cord blood donations have been made available by the National Blood Service in England to Australia, Hong Kong, France, Spain, United States of America, Italy and Portugal.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in each of the last three years received cord blood donation; for what conditions; and with what survival rate. [94417]
§ Mr. DenhamSince 1996, six children have received cord blood transplants in the United Kingdom. One cord blood unit was supplied from the Newcastle Cord Blood Bank, three from the United States of America, one from Italy, and one from Germany. Five out of the six units were provided for malignant diseases, of which 4 were for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and one for myeloproliferative disease. One transplant was for a genetic disorder, Falconi's anaemia.
Of the five children who received transplants for malignant disease, two died of infection, and one has relapsed. The fourth is too early to assess, but the fifth is doing well one year after transplantation. The patient with Falconi's anaemia is also doing well 11 months after the transplant.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been made available for each of the last three years, for the development of cord blood transplantation services(a) throughout the UK and (b) at Edgware. [94416]
§ Mr. DenhamApproximately £4 million has been spent by the National Blood Service on the development of cord blood banking in England. Approximately £3.5 million of this investment has been in the London cord blood bank.
443W
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's strategy towards developing cord blood transplantation services. [94421]
§ Mr. DenhamThe use of cord blood in the treatment of various diseases in children, including leukaemia, is a new development. This high technology treatment raises questions about clinical benefits, bioethics and availability within the National Health Service. We have therefore asked the four UK blood services to address these issues and to make joint recommendations for the future collection and storage of cord blood in the UK. We are currently considering their report.