Dilemma - Cord Blood Banking

Hello

One of my friend emailed me about my opinion on whether she should opt for Cord Blood banking. I have always viewed cord blood banking somewhere in between misleading public to light scam. The Wiki article is not encouraging either and raises some questions ranging from misrepresentation, false claims to ethical.

I didn't opt for storage for my first kid. My friend was thinking of taking it. Cost in India is around INR 70K. I don't want to mislead her and want to get the opinion of broader audience.If all goes well i will also plan to take it for my second child as with our family history it makes sense. Please share your thoughts and opinions on this matter.

Thanks

From all the information I've gathered, it's just not worth it, mainly because the cord blood carries the same antibodies that the baby does, therefore if your baby gets sick (cancer etc) than you're passing on those same antibodies onto her again. Better idea is to donate it, or bank it and use someone else's if need be, I forget what it's called, but this is an option.

Here's a link someone posted in another recent thread about the pros and cons.

http://www.amazingpregnancy.com/pregnancy-articles/489.html

Me too. Fwiw, my brother is a PICU physician, and he concurs.