Private versus Public Storage of Cord Blood Stem Cells

When it comes to cord stem cells, you have a few choices to make before the birth of your baby.  Do you privately store it for possible use by your child or another family member, or do you donate it to a public bank where it can be used by someone who needs it now and has a similar tissue type?  A few things to consider when making this decision:  1) research shows that transplants of related donors are more successful than in unrelated donors, however if you child, 2) researchers believe that if your child suffers from a blood or immune disease that the genetic mutation for those diseases may already exist in the cord blood making the use of their own cord blood stem cells ineffective, 3) your child's chance of need
ing to use their own stem cells is remote, 4) cost of storing your baby's cord blood is high (around $2000-$2500 for processing and twenty year storage fees).