Foreigners account for 30% of illegal cord blood therapy patients

Foreign nationals accounted for about 30 percent of patients who received unauthorized therapies using blood from umbilical cords and placenta, which has been sold by a dealer charged with illegal handling of the blood, investigative sources said Monday.The dealer, who heads a cord blood sales company in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, is among the six people arrested Sunday over their suspected involvement in cord blood treatments conducted without advance notice to authorities. The effectiveness and safety of such therapy has not been proven.Among the foreigners, many were Chinese nationals.…READ FULL ARTICLE