title: Religious perspectives on umbilical cord blood banking.
abstract: Umbilical cord blood is a valuable source of haematopoietic stem cells. There is little information about whether religious affiliations have any bearing on attitudes to and decisions about its collection, donation and storage. The authors provided information about umbilical cord blood banking to expert commentators from six major world religions (Catholicism, Anglicanism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism) and asked them to address a specific set of questions in a commentary. The commentaries suggest there is considerable support for umbilical cord blood banking in these religions. Four commentaries provide moral grounds for favouring public donation over private storage. None attach any particular religious significance to the umbilical cord or to the blood within it, nor place restrictions on the ethnicity or religion of donors and recipients. Views on ownership of umbilical cord blood vary. The authors offer a series of general points for those who seek a better understanding of religious perspectives on umbilical cord blood banking.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, The University of Sydney, Australia. chris.jordens@sydney.edu.au
authors.forename: Christopher F C
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Jordens
authors.forename: Michelle A C
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Ian H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kerridge
authors.forename: Cameron
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Keown
authors.forename: Rabbi Jeremy
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McGarrity
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sachedina
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tobin
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks; D005312:Fetal Blood; D006801:Humans; D010067:Ownership; D012068:Religion and Medicine