Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Cord blood banking

29 October, 2012
Question:

Hello, I was wondering what the laws are regarding cord blood banking (saving the blood from the umbilical cord to be potentially used later for its disease treating capacities). Thanks!


Answer:

We are not aware of any halachic restriction on cord blood banking, except for limitations on collection on Shabbat and Yom Tov.  Cord blood banking is widely practiced here in Israel in hospitals that cater to religious populations. 

It should be noted that there are two forms of cord blood banking – public banking (where cord blood is donated freely for use by anyone who needs it, similar to a blood bank) and private banking (where one pays money to save the cord blood for private use). The first is encouraged by health organizations. The latter is frowned upon by the American Academy of Pediatrics as it has not been shown to be of benefit unless there is a currently ill child in the family or the family is prone to specific genetic diseases. While these considerations are not strictly halachic, they have some impact on Jewish medical ethics.

This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.
Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar