Who Should Store Cord Blood?

So, should you store your child's cord blood in a private bank, or make it readily available to others in the form of a donation? That can be a tough question.

Omaha, Nebraska's WOW-TV recently ran a story on the topic. Here's an excerpt:

"Parents like Maria Zellmer are only encouraged to store their baby's blood privately if a sibling has leukemia or another life threatening blood disease or if there's a family history.

Zellmer decided against it for her first and now second child for another reason; the expense.

It takes around $2,000 in start up costs and then yearly storage fees.

Instead she chose to donate the cord blood to help someone else."

If you'd like to take a look at this fairly balanced coverage of some key umbilical cord blood banking questions, the original story appears in its entirety here.