They wanted us to sign up 'right there and then': Parents speak up about cord blood banks' marketing tactics

CNA04-29

SINGAPORE: When first-time mum Grace Tan was pregnant with her daughter two years ago, private cord blood banks' representatives approached her at baby fairs, armed with attractive goody bags and ...

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So, when are you going to sign up?’ Not if, but when,” she said, adding that the salespeople tried to get her to sign up “right there and then”.  \nMs Tan, who is the co-founder of vending machine provider Avatar Tech, ended up donating her daughter’s cord blood to the Singapore Cord Blood Bank – the only public cord blood bank in the country – after she was born in November 2022. \nBut the mother-of-one admitted to feeling as though she might miss out if she did not go with the private banking route. \n“I did feel like what if my baby needs the cord blood later on in life. Slim chance but still. Then I figured … it's donated but it doesn't mean it's used up,” Ms Tan said. \n“She might still be able to access it later on or get priority to access someone else's donated cord blood which might be more helpful depending on what her medical situation is.” \nCord blood banking has been in the spotlight in Singapore after lapses by private firm Cordlife led to thousands of cord blood units being damaged.  \nIt was revealed last November that seven of its 22 storage tanks were exposed to temperatures above the acceptable limit of -150 degrees Celsius. \nAbout 2,200 cord blood units were damaged and the Ministry of Health (MOH) ordered further investigations into the other Cordlife tanks. Earlier this month, the ministry said another 5,300 cord blood units were deemed \"non-viable\". These had been stored in a tank and a dry shipper, which is intended for transport and not long-term storage.\nCordlife’s board of directors lodged a police report on Apr 17 over the “potential wrongdoings” of former employees. This came after seven people in its management team had already been arrested. \n\n\n\n\n\"NOT PERMITTED TO OVERSELL\"\nProviders StemCord and Cordlife told CNA that they participate in pregnancy- and baby-related events such as baby fairs, talks and seminars. The purpose is to educate parents and create awareness about cord blood banking, they said.\nParents told CNA they have also encountered sales staff during visits to private gynaecologists. \nStemCord CEO Valerie Wong said the company uses its website and social media channels to share about cord blood banking, and places brochures at obstetrics and gynaecological clinics.\n“According to the guidelines set, all our sales staff are trained to comply (with) standardised messaging to parents and we are not permitted to oversell nor give non-factual information,” she said.\nShe added that Stemcord's approach is \"educational\", and complies with the advertising and promotional guidelines set by MOH.\nA Cordlife spokesperson said the company “strives to maintain ethical business practices” in its marketing efforts, including being transparent and honest.\n“At all times, we are careful to ensure that all the information provided to expectant parents about cord blood banking and our services is based on facts and scientific information supported by peer-reviewed papers,” said Cordlife.\nParents are also provided information about the risks related to the process of cord blood collection and retrieval of the required maternal blood samples, as well as the availability of alternative sources of stem cells and treatment, its spokesperson added.\nThey can also “change their minds” before the delivery even after entering into an agreement, said Cordlife.\nIn StemCord’s case, expectant parents usually sign up in their second or third trimesters, said Ms Wong. “They are required to sign up before birth so that they can bring along the cord blood collection box to the hospital on the day of delivery,” she added.\nThe third private cord blood bank in Singapore, Cryoviva, did not respond to CNA’s request for comments.\nIn response to CNA’s queries, MOH said it investigated three cases of advertising breaches by licensed cord blood banking firms between 2021 and 2023.\nCord blood banking is a licensed service in Singapore under the Healthcare Services Act 2020. Licensees must adhere to advertising regulations under the Act when marketing their services.\nThese include ensuring their advertisement is not misleading and is factually accurate, and does not provide information that amounts to soliciting or encouraging the use of the service, said MOH.\nCord blood banks can also only advertise using media such as brochures and flyers and on the internet.\n“Prior written consent of an individual must also be obtained before brochures, leaflets, flyers or pamphlets containing the contact information of a licensee can be distributed to the individual,” MOH added.\nLicensees who breach the regulations face a fine of up to S$20,000 (US$14,700) and up to 12 months' jail.\n\n\n\n\n\n      Stemcord representatives at the Mummys Market baby fair in January 2023. (Photo: Facebook/Stemcord)\n    \n\n\n\n\n\nPREYING ON EMOTIONS\nMarketing experts that CNA spoke to said that cord blood banks may prey on the emotions of parents-to-be.  \nExpectant parents are often in a heightened emotional state, particularly around the time of childbirth, said National University of Singapore's (NUS) Dr Samer Elhajjar. \nCampaigns that accentuate the potential benefits of cord blood banking could resonate with such emotions, added the senior lecturer from NUS Business School's Department of Marketing.\nNoting that the decision to pursue cord blood banking typically occurs around childbirth, Dr Elhajjar said: “Employing aggressive marketing tactics at this juncture can instil a sense of urgency, prompting parents to hastily make a decision without affording themselves adequate time for thorough research and deliberation regarding their options.” \nPhrases such as \"investing in your child's future\" and \"a chance for a lifetime\" may push parents into a quick decision, despite the statistically low likelihood of requiring the stored cells, according to Dr Elhajjar. \n\n\n\n\n\n      Cordlife marketing material on a paper cup at a gynaecologist clinic. (Photos: CNA reader)\n    \n\n\n\n\nSingapore University of Social Sciences’ Lau Kong Cheen pointed out that marketing messages could trigger a fear of the child being inflicted with a disease that could potentially be cured by stem cells from their cord blood. \nWith this sense of \"fear\" triggered, a sense of \"control\" is introduced when the prospective client is offered the chance to take things into their own hands by choosing to preserve the child's cord blood, said head of marketing at SUSS' School of Business. \nDr Lau said these marketing tactics may come across as aggressive due to the cord blood bank’s need to close sales within a narrow window of time when a woman is pregnant, and to fill up vacancies at storage facilities. \nWith declining birth rates, the market for cord blood banking is also slowing, with stiff competition from public and private firms, he noted. \nAnalyst Nathaniel Koh experienced a cord blood bank’s \"borderline\" pushiness when his wife was expecting their first child in 2021. \nLike other parents, Mr Koh, 41, recalled how a salesperson would often be present at the gynaecology clinic his pregnant wife visited for appointments. \n\"They always approach. They come up to you and market their product when you are at the gynae. \n“But you are at the clinic. And you are unlikely to leave the clinic because of that. So (I have no choice but to) listen,\" he said. Mr Koh did not sign up. Other parents similarly describe being accosted during their gynae visits, with some caving in to the pressure. \nExperts cautioned parents against being emotionally drawn into the discussion, which could result in hasty decisions. \nDr Elhajjar told parents to look out for pressure phrases such as \"limited time offer\" or \"only a few left\". \n\"It's crucial to beware of false claims and conduct thorough research on products or services before making any decisions.\"","kind":null,"is_publish_news":null,"is_publish_highlight":null,"is_publish_live":null,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":1},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.22.4","shortVersion":"4.22.4","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2431816016"}