title: Knowledge of Cord Blood Banking in General Population and Doctors: A Questionnaire Based Survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the knowledge of the general population and the medical specialists about the purpose and utility of cord blood banking.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred individuals from the general population and 100 clinicians from various departments were enrolled in the study between August 2013 and November 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty eight percent of the doctors and 82 % of the lay persons did not know any indication or were not aware of the correct indications of the use of cord blood for transplantation. Around half of the lay persons (42 %) and doctors (37 %) thought that umbilical cord blood can be used to treat any genetic disorder including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and mental retardation. Nineteen percent of the doctors thought that umbilical cord blood can be used to treat thalassemia in the same child.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The propaganda done by cord blood banks that cord blood is a biological insurance for the child is misleading and should be discouraged. The obstetricians and the pediatricians should take a central role in providing the correct information to would be parents to help them in taking a correct decision.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226014, India.
authors.forename: Moni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tuteja
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226014, India.
authors.forename: Meenal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226014, India. shubha@sgpgi.ac.in.
authors.forename: Shubha R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Phadke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000637:transplantation*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Doctors; Lay persons; Stem cells; Umbilical cord blood