To the umbilical cord blood bank – through the court
The stem cell case has reached court
Volgograd city portal "Hometown"The hearing of the case on the claim of famous Volgograd residents "theater actress NAT Yurani and water polo player Dmitry Irishichev to the Volgograd Health Department has begun.
Three months ago, twins Stepan and Fedor were born in the Irishichev family. Caring parents approached the birth of babies responsibly. They decided to "insure" the health of infants and preserve stem cells. However, already before the birth of children in the maternity hospital, it turned out that there is a document of the Ministry of Health "not recommending" collecting umbilical cord blood. Gemabank was forced to terminate the contract with the Irishichevs. The management of the institution appealed to the Federal Antimonopoly Department with a statement about the illegal actions of the city administration. The officials built their defense position on the fact that the phrase "not recommended" is not inherently a ban. The FAS did not agree with these arguments. For doctors, disobedience could cost the workplace. The antimonopoly service recognized the actions of the city administration as illegal.
"We decided to file an application to the court," said Yurania Irishicheva. – Despite the fact that we were deprived of the right to protect our children from diseases, we will not demand compensation for moral and material harm. We just want this chance to be used by other Volgograd families who care about the health of their babies. And if the cord blood stem cells save the life of at least one Volgograd resident, we will consider that the goal has been achieved.
According to Elena Evteeva, the head of the Volgograd Medical Legal Center non-profit partnership, the rights of the Irishichev family were grossly violated. There is an explanation of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, allowing the collection of umbilical cord / placental blood. At the beginning of this year, the head of the regional health department asked the head of the city department in writing not to interfere with blood collection and transfer to maternity hospitals.
Denis Isaikin, Chief specialist (obstetrician-gynecologist) of the Health Department of the Volgograd administration, believes that there are no violations in the actions of the health department.
"Firstly, only free medical services are provided in our maternity hospitals. And cord blood sampling is not included in this list. Secondly, at the moment there is a legal gap in issues related to cord blood sampling. The regulatory framework for stem cell turnover is just being formed.
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24.09.2009