Placenta issues/concerns

Sorry if this has already been covered, I don't hang out in this sub much...🙂

Copying a question from another thread here... so...

Legal stuff

After seeing a recent discussion, I'm curious about how the placenta is regulated here in the US.

Is it actually illegal to sell or donate a placenta?

And what happens if a mother wants her placenta—for whatever personal reason—to just be disposed of by the hospital?

Honestly, I don't know anything at all about this topic.

Thanks for any info you can share...🙂

I find it hard to believe that people here actually sell or use it for cosmetic purposes; our beauty industry just isn't quite at that level yet.

In Europe, I know they’ll provide it upon request. Some people actually plant a tree when a child is born and bury the placenta near the roots to nourish the soil. If the baby is born in the winter, they’ll keep it in a freezer until it's time to plant. Or, if they don't have a yard, they just put it in a flowerpot.

As for our local laws, I'm not entirely sure. I wouldn't be surprised if the hospital refused to let you take it home in the first place. 😕

It’s been ages since I left the maternity ward😬 , and there’s zero chance I’m heading back anytime soon😁 , but I’ve always found this topic interesting......

Anyway, here’s what I’ve dug up so far regarding those Department of Health guidelines......

They mention these specific containers in the text, though all I ever saw were just little cysts scattered around the unit....😬 Do those containers actually exist?😁

Maybe a pathologist will weigh in and finally explain the exact process they use for them.

And honestly, I’m not convinced they’d hand her over to you, me, or anyone else specifically—but I don't see any reason why they wouldn't, do you?

It’s definitely worth having a discussion about this😁. We might learn something new or finally clear up some old misconceptions. I know there are always those wild conspiracy theories floating around claiming that...🤣

So, I finished medical school a long time ago. Back when I was doing my rotations over in Gynecology, I saw they actually had these freezers specifically for placentas. Once the baby is born, the doctor examines the placenta, and then the nurse just tosses it right into a freezer with all the others—that’s how they did it, anyway, though who knows if it's still the standard practice. Honestly? It looked like a massive pile of frozen cow stomachs. Gross. My guess is it all goes toward manufacturing medications—things like interferons, gamma globulins, and that sort of stuff. Seems like a waste to just throw it out if there's money to be made, right? My main concern is how much they actually test that stuff for diseases like Hepatitis or AIDS...

The idea of tossing aside umbilical cord blood to be used for pharmaceutical manufacturing or cosmetics is absolute nonsense. Someone is taking a life-saving medical resource and wasting it on things that don't even help people.
Umbilical cord blood is packed with stem cells. It can be frozen and utilized later to treat serious diseases in either the baby or the parents. In Germany, hospitals are required to release this blood to the parents upon request, and there are private companies where you can pay roughly $2,200 to $2,700 to have it frozen and stored for 20 years—with just a small maintenance fee after that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_blood

Chloe Gray12 said:All that talk about tossing it out or collecting it just to make drugs or cosmetics is total nonsense—someone's out there taking a life-saving medicine and using it for something that doesn't even help them.
Look, blood from the umbilical cord actually has stem cells in it. You can freeze it down and eventually use it to treat all sorts of nasty diseases for the baby or the parents later on. In Germany, they have to give the blood back to the parents if they ask for it, and there are actual companies out there where you pay like $2,000 or $2,500 to freeze it and store it for 20 years (after that, you just pay some tiny little fee to keep it tucked away).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_blood

But like you were saying, we aren't talking about keeping the whole placenta, just the blood from the cord... so, theoretically, using the placenta to manufacture meds wouldn't hurt anyone—if anything, it's actually a good thing.

In America, though, storing cord blood is unfortunately impossible right now; I heard about one pregnant woman recently who tried to get it done, but she couldn't make it happen... such a bummer.

rustymoose54 said:Like you said, they aren't keeping the whole placenta; it’s just the blood from the umbilical cord. So, using it for medical manufacturing shouldn't hurt anyone—if anything, it's actually beneficial.

I disagree. This is about principle. The placenta is part of that woman's body, which means she should have the final say in what happens to it. It’s the same logic as someone not being able to just walk in and take your blood because they need it for a "good cause." Or how nobody can just claim a deceased relative's body because an anatomy class needs it or someone needs an organ transplant. You need consent for all of that.

rustymoose54 said:In the US, storing umbilical cord blood unfortunately isn't possible; one pregnant woman tried recently but didn't have any luck.

Honestly, I’d be surprised if they actually helped her out. I mean, expecting an American hospital to show any real flexibility or compassion? Please. 😲

Justin Fox said:On the contrary, it’s about basic principles here. The placenta is part of that woman's body—period—so she should have the final say over what happens to it. It’s just common sense... like how someone can’t just waltz in and take your blood cells because they need them for some "noble cause." Or how nobody can just snatch away a deceased relative's body because an anatomy class needs it or they need organs for transplants. You need consent for all of that.

Honestly, I’d be shocked if I heard they actually accommodated her. I mean, come on... expecting a hospital in America to show any kind of flexibility or compassion? Please. 😲

The placenta isn't "part of the body," Justin Fox😁—not after the birth, anyway. The body expels it (and God forbid it stays inside, the woman would die from sepsis). If someone offered me my own placenta after giving birth, what exactly do you think I'd do with that bloody, slimy, web-like mass of tissue? She was trying to store it "eco-friendly" somewhere, which means at best, she'd have to head out into the woods the day after labor to dig a hole deep enough to bury it. Like, can you imagine? A new mom having time for hobbies like that on day one? Personally, I'd much rather hand it over to medical pros so they can process it into life-saving meds. But hey, people are weird... wouldn't surprise me if some women or guys wanted to tuck a placenta under their pillow to sit there after the birth. It’d probably make the whole house smell, though... who knows.

Hospitals in America—don't even get me started—they barely have the budget to store umbilical cord blood for preventive measures, let alone the more critical stuff. That’s just how it goes in struggling systems; there's zero money for preventative care. Places where blood could actually be stored (assuming the woman was willing to pay for the storage herself) are just completely packed with more urgent supplies.

But yeah, we definitely need to change the laws to let women fund this themselves. I'm with you on that.

rustymoose54 said:The placenta isn't part of the body, Justin Fox 😁—not after the delivery, anyway.

Rustymoose, maybe we can find some middle ground here: the placenta is part of the body right up until birth, when it's expelled. At that point, it becomes a former part of the body, or rather, a biological byproduct. Think of it like blood that’s been drawn. Since it originated from a specific person, that individual should be the one to decide its fate.

I agree that in most cases—much like getting a tooth pulled—the owner would likely consent to having it disposed of as biohazardous waste, since there's no practical use for it. What bothers me is the notion that anyone other than the person the tissue came from gets a say in the matter.

When you look at stem cell blood, there is a clear utility: medical treatment. That’s why it seems perfectly reasonable that whoever wants it (and has the funds) can keep it, have it frozen, and manage it as they see fit. It is a woman's personal decision regarding her own placenta or umbilical cord; no one should be able to seize her blood or cord for some "greater good," like manufacturing cosmetics or treating others, without her explicit consent.

rustymoose54 said:Laws need to change to allow women to fund this themselves; I'm with you on that.

Bravo, rustymoose. It's rare that we actually see eye to eye. 👍

Just so you know: storing umbilical cord blood isn't even a job for hospitals or public health systems, even over in Germany. It's handled by private companies. You pay them, say, $3,000, and they professionally store or freeze the blood for you.

The hospital's only responsibility is to ensure that blood doesn't end up on the floor; they just collect it in a bag and hand it off immediately for freezing. Essentially, the public healthcare role is strictly logistical. The $3,000 is paid by whoever wants the service and has the cash to cover it.

rustymoose54 said:The placenta isn't actually part of the body, Justin Fox 😁—not after you give birth! The body just expels it (heaven forbid it stayed inside, a woman would die from sepsis). If they offered me my own placenta right after delivery, what on earth do you think I'd do with that bloody, slimy, web-like mass of tissue?

It looked so wild that if they’d asked me what I wanted to do with it in that moment, I probably would've screamed, "Just flush it down the toilet!"😬

Though, if I had actually asked them to save it, maybe they would have packed it up for me, who knows?

That woman who wanted to preserve stem cells—did she actually manage to pull that off in Austin? I know that was the goal.

Justin Fox said:Look, when we're talking about stem cell blood, there’s a clear purpose: medical treatment. So, honestly, it seems totally fine to me if someone—who actually wants this and can afford it—decides to keep it for themselves, freeze it, and do whatever they want with it. It’s an individual woman's call regarding her own placenta and umbilical cord... nobody should be able to snatch away her blood or the cord for some "greater good," like making fancy cosmetics or treating other people. That should only happen if she gives the green light.

ground control to Justin Fox 😬

storing cord blood isn't the same thing as a woman "deciding what to do" with the actual placenta...

women who have their cord blood extracted and stored DON'T just take the placenta home afterward—it gets tossed or used for other things if it's still viable.

nobody even asks the mother what happens to the placenta once they've taken the blood and stored it. 😉

if storing this stuff is a business for private companies, then I don't get why you're constantly bitching about American doctors? Those kinds of private firms don't exist in our healthcare system yet, but it’s not because American OB-GYNs are refusing to collect the blood. They aren't collecting it because they have nowhere to put it! Start a company that specializes in storing that blood and you'll have more work than you know what to do with...

Exactly, the umbilical cord and the placenta are two distinct things. I think the topics got a bit tangled up there. Regardless, the way things work on planet Earth is pretty clear to rustymoose54: taking a piece of someone else's body without consent is just wrong. If someone wants to wrap it up and take it home, that's their prerogative.

rustymoose54 and Justin Fox, give it a rest:

🙂

If I recall correctly—and I’m not saying I’m 100% certain here—it works like this: a bed goes to pathology, and they write up the death certificate along with it. It's just like when a patient passes away on any other ward; the "dead" bed gets sent over to pathology for a quick check. Now, whether they actually make slides out of every single case? Honestly, I haven't a clue. If a newborn is healthy, has an APGAR score between 8 and 10, and hits those normal birth weight targets... I don't see why we'd need a histological review for every single one.

I’m not going to get bogged down in those other moral dilemmas. Look, if people hadn't done the research, we wouldn't have the medicines we rely on today, so... 🙏

luckykid said:The real question is how thorough they actually are with testing for things like Hepatitis or HIV...

Usually, if the mother is HIV+ or has hepatitis, it's already on the radar. It's hard to miss.

MangoAnanas Justin Fox said:A "dead" placenta gets sent off to pathology. They run some kind of check. Honestly, I’m not even sure if they make slides out of every single one anymore. If the newborn is healthy, sporting an APGAR score between 8 and 10, and hitting those standard birth weight markers... I just don't see the logic in performing a histological review on every single placenta.

We really need to double-check if the full report has actually been released yet. As for this whole routine histology thing, it strikes me as a pretty useless practice—honestly, just a massive waste of Medicare funds. Unless, of course, we’re talking about verifying whether it's even fit for purpose. If that's the case, then I'd argue the responsibility for funding that specific test should fall squarely on the user of the bed itself.

MangoAnanas Justin Fox said:I won't get bogged down in those other moral dilemmas. Honestly, if they hadn't done the research, we wouldn't have any of these medicines to rely on today. And now... well, that's where things get complicated. 🙏

MangoAnanas, I couldn't agree more. Research like this is absolutely vital, and honestly, seeing these kinds of results is nothing short of a win. No doubt about that.
Whatever. There are just a few things here that don't sit right with me:
Is this thing being used for actual research, or is it just some setup for mass production?
I’m wondering about the specifics here. Did the woman actually gift the bedding, or was it a sale? Or was it just snatched away without any legal ground to stand on?

Research needs support, certainly, but not through this kind of lawlessness. We need systemic organization, not chaos. This practice of seizing a bed without explicit authorization feels less like science and more like a scene from a horror movie where dr. Frankenstein is raiding graves just to scavenge materials for his latest experiment. Or perhaps it’s more akin to those disturbing reports about death row inmates in China being used to supply ingredients for cosmetic products. We really shouldn't lose sight of basic human dignity.