X-Message-Number: 9150
Subject: Re: Umbilical cord blood storage (CryoNet #9146)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 09:59:21 -0600
From: Will Dye <>

Tim Freeman <> writes:

> At http://www.cordblood.com/ there's an ad for some folks who will
> freeze and store umbilical cord blood from a newborn baby, speculating
> that it will eventually be good for something.  [...]
> Any comments?  My wife Ailing will be giving birth to baby #2 in a few
> months, so this is not a hypothetical proposition for us.

I think it's sensible for those that can afford it.   The $100-per-year 
maintainance fee seems a bit steep.  You may want to talk to the folk 
at CryoSpan or something about a one-time payment.  

Short of things like the Omega Point, information like that (in this 
case, some DNA that was original at the time of birth) will often be 
unrecoverable.  As time passes, the value of it will likely increase.  
As the centuries pass, it seems plausible that at least someone will 
find it quite valuable, if only because it's original and irreplacable. 

When I was musing on writing a novel, one of the scenes was the 
discovery of a "jackpot" treasure trove: a 1995 furnace filter that 
was put in place and not changed for a year.  Furnace filters collect 
dust (mostly skin cells), which is an unbiased record of who was there 
& other information.  Makes you kind of wonder about how those in the 
future will regard our subsidies of recycling.  :-)

Anyway, the blood sample from you upcoming child's umbilical cord 
might be of use during your child's lifetime.  And it will likely be 
of value sometimes in the future, either to your child or to some 
history-minded person/entity somewhere among your child's decendants.  

BTW, congratulations to you and Ailing on the pending arrival of #2.  
I have two myself, and they are a source of constant distraction, 
occasional pain, deep challenge, and indescribable joy.  Welcome to 
parenthood (again).  I do hope that Ailing is doing well.  

--Will

 ____________________________  __________________________________________
/ William L. Dye  (willdye)  \ \  I support term limits.  When I become  \
\    -or-  \ \  dictator-for-life, I promise to serve  \
 \    \ \  only ONE term.    --Michael Cornelius  \
  \_____________________________\ \________________________________________/

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