July 15, 2024 article from The New York Times.
Families pay thousands of dollars to store their children’s stem cells with the hope of a healthier future. But the cells are rarely useful, and sometimes contaminated.
“When Stacy Seaver was a sales representative for CBR, from 2018 to 2019, her biggest client was Northside Hospital in Atlanta, which says it delivers more babies than any other in the United States. She stocked collection kits in supply rooms and regularly brought the obstetricians lunch.
What the hospital didn’t tell parents: CBR paid the doctors about $250 for every baby’s sample they collected.
…
The banks employ sales representatives like Ms. Seaver to visit obstetricians and tout their products. But unlike their peers from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries — who operate under strict laws prohibiting kickbacks to doctors — cord blood representatives are largely exempt because insurers do not cover their product.”
About the Author: Broken Science
