THE use of umbilical cord blood to cure serious illness has hit the headlines this week, and a Chesham couple are at the forefront of introducing the technique into this country.

THE use of umbilical cord blood to cure serious illness has hit the headlines this week, and a Chesham couple are at the forefront of introducing the technique into this country.

Steve Payne and Julie-Anne Ryan will launch the UK Cord Blood Bank next week which will enable parents to take and store blood from the umbilical cord of their newly born child.

It contains the building blocks of the immune system and can be used to combat a wide range of serious illnesses including leukaemia.

The technique was recently used in America after a baby boy was genetically selected - chosen for his genetic traits - to provide the best cell match to help cure his sister of a critical illness.

The issue of genetic selection has caused widespread controversy among doctors who believe that recent events in America could pave the way for 'designer babies', chosen for their genetic makeup.

Ms Ryan, whose company will be the first private cord bank in the country, said: 'While we have absolutely no comment at all on genetic selection, this case underlines the importance of cord blood transplants as an alternative to bone marrow transplants in treating a wide range of serious illnesses.

'If the child is diagnosed with a serious disease later on in life, such as leukaemia, stem cells can be retrieved and injected back into the child without fear of rejection or contamination.'

She added: 'It is a non-invasive procedure which only takes a few minutes.'

The provision of umbilical cord blood banks in the UK is restricted to just three hospitals, two in London and one in Newcastle.

A spokesman from the National Blood Service said: 'The blood we take via this technique is available to everyone in the UK who needs it.

'It's a voluntary programme which helps everyone, and the two hospitals in London take 48 per cent of their blood from ethnic minorities, meaning we can find matches for a wide spectrum of people.'