By Louise Daly
When Kimberly Gaston was pregnant with her fourth child and her obstetrician suggested she should consider saving the blood from her baby's umbilical cord, she did not hesitate.
The 32-year-old had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a year earlier. It might be smart to save her son's stem-cell-rich cord blood as a form of "biological insurance".
"It gave me a sense of security about my children's future health," said the young mother from Satellite Beach, Florida.
Like a growing number of people in the United States, Gaston opted to bank that blood at her own expense, cryo-preserving it at a private facility for the family's exclusive use in the event of an unforeseen medical emergency.
If her children don't need it, Gaston hopes she might be able to make use of it if there is ever a stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis, a chronic and incurable neurological disease.
Cord blood is a rich source of stem cells, a type of cell that can morph into almost any tissue type in the body and replicate many times over.
Cord blood stem cells have been used therapeutically for more than a decade to treat diseases including cancers and blood disorders.
But it is the cells' potential applications in the field of regenerative medicine that create much of the buzz.
Researchers are studying how to use these cells to grow new tissue to treat everything from brain and spinal cord injuries to heart disease, diabetes, stroke and Parkinson's disease.
And it is that promise of stem cell therapy that is driving many to shell out thousands of rands to preserve their infant's cord blood.
"Our clients understand that it is a powerful medical resource," said Stephen Grant, executive vice-president of Cord Blood Registry, one of about 20 private US blood-banking operations.
Last month, Spain's Princess Letizia and her husband, Crown Prince Felipe de Bourbon, revealed they too had stored the umbilical cords of their two small daughters.
Research into stem cell therapies still has a long way to go, but industry officials argue parents only have one opportunity to save their child's genetically unique stem cells.
But advocates for public cord blood banking suggest most parents would be better off saving the money and falling back on public blood banks in the event of a medical crisis, unless they have another child with a genetic illness or malignancy who could benefit from a transplant.
The American Medical Association argues that not only is the promise of stem cell therapies for regenerative medicine unproven, but the chances of a child ever needing a stem-cell transplant are slim.
It cites estimates suggesting the likelihood ranges from one in 1 000 to one in 200 000.
Factor in the chance that another family member could use those cells for a transplant if they were a good enough match, and that figure would be more like one in 2 700, according to another estimate.
"The major reason it's a big profit industry is that the majority of the units banked - 99 percent of them - have not been used," said Dr Bert Lubin, an expert on cord blood transplants.
Cord-blood banking customers pay an upfront processing fee ranging from $1 000 to $2 000 (R6 860 to R13 720), as well as $100 to $150 a year for storage fees.
But more and more people in the US are opting to spend the money and take the gamble. Industry officials estimate that up to half a million unique blood samples have been banked over the past decade, and the number is growing at between 15 to 25 percent per year.
Most taking up the option are affluent and well-educated. Some 40 percent of live births in Beverly Hills generate new business for Cord Blood Registry.
But it's not only the rich and famous taking the plunge.
With four kids under 10, and a family income of less than $100 000 a year, it was a "stretch" for Gaston to pay the $1 600 to bank her son's blood.
But "it's just good sense to be prepared," she said. - Sapa-AFP