Store your baby's stem cells! Home - Why store stem cells? - Specialist - PhD. Saulius Noreika
PhD. Saulius Noreika PhD Saulius Noreika, Medical history and ethics, Public Health institute, Vilnius Univerity

Stem cell research is very perspective biomedical research field opening many therapeutic possibilities. I am happy that there is Cord blood bank in Lithuania where you can store your baby's cord blood stem cells.


Often due to a lack of knowledge cord blood stem cell research is considered controversial, because sometimes it is mixed with research in embryonic stem cell field. Today human embryos used for research rise many ethical issues and future therapy is still very unclear. However cord blood stem cell and adult stem cell research is ethical, but sometimes negative position or ignorance makes me amaze when it appears even among science or medicine people. More amusing is government position about stem cell research. Science, including stem cell research, is not something government feels necessary to invest to, induce and maintain. However other countries emphasize their science programs on stem cell research.


Today not every family can store their baby's cord blood stem cells in a private bank. However there are no public banks present in Lithuania or other Baltic countries. There are few models of public-private banking in Germany, that might be an example for Baltic states to seek. That way donor sample number could be increased, and families could have possibility to donate their samples stored in private banks if there is a need.