Thoughts on Stem Cell Banking
As this New York Times article points out, the most obvious reason for not banking your stem cells - now that you can - is that it seems likely science will quickly progress far past their utility: "some experts say consumers should think twice before spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on such services, because it is not clear how useful such cells will be. ... Some people buying the services say there is little to lose from doing so except money, even if the chance that the cells will be needed or useful is slim. ... Scientists say it is quite unlikely a person will ever need such cells. And the technology could change so much that cells stored now may not be needed if a person falls ill in 10 or 20 years. Recently, scientists found a way to turn skin cells into cells that behave like embryonic stem cells. That might allow a person of any age to have customized tissue created on the spot." So it's a rational decision of risk, reward and chance. How long before aging catches up with you, and how long before science masters the biology of regeneration with no need for those stem cells from your past history?
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/health/29stem.html?pagewanted=print