The health of mothers and babies could be jeopardised during the collection of umbilical cord stem cells for storage by private companies, doctors gave warning yesterday.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said that companies that persuade new parents to store umbilical cord blood to treat illnesses their babies may develop in later life are putting excessive pressure on NHS maternity services.

An RCOG expert panel said that there was "insufficient evidence" to recommend the practice — which involves storing blood containing stem cells that can be harvested for possible later use in medical treatments — for those families at low risk of passing on genetic disorders.

However the growth of commercial cord blood banking was encouraging a culture of "maternal guilt" driving many women to have the procedure, it added.

The panel warned parents to be alert to heavy marketing tactics, which often include claims that cord blood can be an "elixir of life" for their children.

At present, mothers can donate their umbilical cord blood to the NHS Cord Blood Bank for possible future use in transplantations. Families where there is a high risk of a genetic disorder can also store the blood with the NHS in case it is needed in the future.

But demand has grown in recent years from low risk families who want to store the cells in case their child develops an illness. Private companies describe the practice as a "once in a lifetime opportunity", and "like freezing a spare immune system" for the child.

The blood is a rich source of versatile stem cells, which can potentially be used to treat diseases such as leukaemia.

Some firms also suggest the future possibility of treating conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, which would depend on advances in cell culturing to replace specific defective cells. The cost of storage can be up to £1,500.

The panel said that the NHS maternity units were being put under excessive financial and workload pressures by parents requesting cord blood extraction when giving birth.

They also expressed concerns about the distribution of "emotive literature" GP’s surgeries, antenatal clinics and directly to parents by private firms. The experts added that the effects on health of some of the cord blood collection practices, such as immediate clamping of the umbilical cord after birth — remained unknown.

The new RCOG guidelines, published today, support the collection of cord blood through public sector banks for at risk families. However it warns of the "considerable logistical burden" placed on "already overstretched" staff and notes that collection has to be carried out during a particularly risky time for mother and child.

Collection of the cells usually happens within minutes of the baby being delivered "where there is a risk of post-partum haemorrhage and when both mother and baby require one-to-one care", the Royal College warns. This could give rise to added complications that might actually put the lives of mothers and babies at risk.

The college advised all NHS trusts to draw up clear policies on how to respond to prenatal requests for storage, including recovery of costs.

At present, it is unclear who mostly collects the blood - with NHS staff, friends of the family and staff from private companies all possibly involved.

The guidance said: "The use of midwifery or medical staff for cord blood collection may distract them from the care of mothers and babies. Cord blood collection could jeopardise the mother’s or baby’s health if the normal practice for managing the third stage is altered or delayed to promote successful cord blood collection."

Susan Bewley, a consultant obstetrician at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Foundation Trust and chair of the College’s ethics committee, said that birth could be a dangerous time for mother and child, adding "we meddle and fiddle with that at our peril".

"If we start, in those first minutes, changing the procedures and taking on another function that’s not necessary then we may imperil the baby’s and the mother’s health," Dr Bewley said.

She also raised concerns that the cord could be clamped too early by health workers wishing to ensure a sufficiently large volume of blood with the highest cell dose was collected, which could harm the child. Some evidence suggests that a delay of between 30 and 120 seconds after birth leads to less need for procedures like blood transfusions.

Ruth Warwick, president of the British Association for Tissue Banking, said that firms were "parasitising" NHS facilities, relying on overstretched doctors and nurses to advise patients and carry out extractions for storage without offering financial compensation. She said this pressure was only likely to increase significantly in the future.

"The cost of collecting [cord blood] by NHS staff for commercial enterprises is not being met by these private companies, and as the activity grows even more NHS operators are going to be asked to do this," she said.

Dr Warwick added that some blood banks advocate taking the blood when the placenta is still inside the mother, a procedure not recommended by the College.

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