Disadvantages of Cord Blood Banking

Although it's called umbilical cord blood banking, what you are really banking is your baby's stem cells. The stem cells can be used in a variety of treatments from Parkinson's disease to growing replacement organs. By banking the stem cells, you give your baby a form of medical insurance should the child develop a problem that could be cured through stem cells.

Cost

• In America, the average cost for umbilical cord blood banking is an up-front payment of $2000 plus another $100 per year the cells are in storage.

Storage Uncertainties

• Stem cells are separated from the blood and then frozen at -196 degrees C. It is unknown how long stem cells can be kept frozen, although some stem cells have survived frozen for twenty years.

Medical Considerations

• Most cures requiring stem cells come from bone marrow and not from stem cells. Stem cells can be found in other parts of the body, such as the testicles (see Resources).

Existence of Public Banks

• Stem cells do not have to come from you in order for you to be treated with them. Public stem cell banks work like blood banks and exist in Europe and North America, where all the umbilical cord blood is donated and waiting for to be used for anyone.

Usefullness

• The odds of actually using the stem cells banked is unknown. Opinions vary widely. It could be 1 in 2700 (Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2005). But, the American Academy of Pediatrics claims that the odds are 1 in 200,000.