Cord blood taken from around 2,100 newborns and stored in special blood banks after contracts had ended was uncovered by a health ministry survey released Tuesday, raising fears that the blood could be used for lucrative yet — scientifically unproven — treatments not covered by insurance.
The survey was conducted in the wake of the revelation that cord blood had been sold following a failure of a private bank and used for therapies across the country without advance notice to authorities.
"I hope it will lead to regaining trust in regenerative medicine," Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Katsunobu Kato said in a regular news conference.