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A little off topic but since this mentions stem cells, I thought I’d ask: my wife is pregnant with our first child. The hospital has a (rather expensive) progra

by spaceman_2020 3y ago

A little off topic but since this mentions stem cells, I thought I’d ask: my wife is pregnant with our first child. The hospital has a (rather expensive) program where they will preserve the child’s stem cells from the placenta at birth. Their rep has been hounding me about it, but my doctor says not to bother. Does anyone here have any experience with something like this? Is it something my child might benefit from, say, 15 years down the line?

dghlsakjg 3y ago
You’ve already got an answer from an expert working in the field who spent years studying and more years practicing. Randos on the internet aren’t going to give you a better answer. If you want another perspective ask the rep to put you in touch with an MD who thinks it IS a good use of resources.
thebigwinning 3y ago
Would you pay a large amount for another speculative technology development (say Tesla auto pilot)? Personally I would only do that if I know and care about the topic, in which case I would have an answer already.
x86x87 3y ago
There are 2 questions here: 1/ can you afford it? Is paying the fee for the procedure for you like buying a meal at a fancy restaurant which you do without thinking too much about itor is it a lot of money? 2/ what are the odds of the kid developing a disease and the stem cells from the collected blood being usable for the said disease? I would say go for it if financially this has virtually zero impact on you, but also be realistic about ever using it.
- paxys 3y ago
  Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you should pay for it. Successful rich people are usually as diligent about a $1000 purchase as they are for $10M. Others with a "it's just a tiny bit of money, worst case it will go to waste, but maybe the snake oil actually works" attitude are prime targets for scammers and sleazy sales reps. Doing your research is important no matter the price or product.
rationalist 3y ago
> Their rep has been hounding me about it In my opinion, the more aggressive the sales person, the higher margin they have. If it is something you want to do, negotiate on the price.
hnbear 3y ago
Three kids in three different hospitals (and two different states) in the US, and they all have this. I don’t think it’s a hospital program it’s just an up-sell they get a kick-back on for selling to you. It’s not a specific recommendation from that hospital, it’s the same as a car dealer upselling a third party insurance program. As for value and utility, I think that’s covered here already, but I put it in the same bucket as cryogenics. Who knows where those stem cells go and how they’re maintained? That said, my youngest is 10, so the state of science here might have changed since I last made the decision.

dghlsakjg 3y ago

You’ve already got an answer from an expert working in the field who spent years studying and more years practicing. Randos on the internet aren’t going to give you a better answer. If you want another perspective ask the rep to put you in touch with an MD who thinks it IS a good use of resources.

thebigwinning 3y ago

Would you pay a large amount for another speculative technology development (say Tesla auto pilot)? Personally I would only do that if I know and care about the topic, in which case I would have an answer already.

x86x87 3y ago

There are 2 questions here: 1/ can you afford it? Is paying the fee for the procedure for you like buying a meal at a fancy restaurant which you do without thinking too much about itor is it a lot of money? 2/ what are the odds of the kid developing a disease and the stem cells from the collected blood being usable for the said disease? I would say go for it if financially this has virtually zero impact on you, but also be realistic about ever using it.

paxys 3y ago
Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you should pay for it. Successful rich people are usually as diligent about a $1000 purchase as they are for $10M. Others with a "it's just a tiny bit of money, worst case it will go to waste, but maybe the snake oil actually works" attitude are prime targets for scammers and sleazy sales reps. Doing your research is important no matter the price or product.

rationalist 3y ago

> Their rep has been hounding me about it In my opinion, the more aggressive the sales person, the higher margin they have. If it is something you want to do, negotiate on the price.

hnbear 3y ago

Three kids in three different hospitals (and two different states) in the US, and they all have this. I don’t think it’s a hospital program it’s just an up-sell they get a kick-back on for selling to you. It’s not a specific recommendation from that hospital, it’s the same as a car dealer upselling a third party insurance program. As for value and utility, I think that’s covered here already, but I put it in the same bucket as cryogenics. Who knows where those stem cells go and how they’re maintained? That said, my youngest is 10, so the state of science here might have changed since I last made the decision.