My wife and I have been doing a little research into the options of preserving our upcoming baby’s umbilical cord. I cannot believe the prices of preserving these cords. The low packages start just under 2,000 dollars and then charge another 5,000 dollars to store the cord over a 40 year period. Also the number of people doing it is relatively small, so the if your cord doesn’t match, then you might run into problems getting one to work.

I once spoke with a very wealthy individual who was in the process of setting up a rather substantial non-profit. His organization is going to do amazing things to help the people of this world. During our conversation he said something that I’ll never forget. He said, “Look John, at the end of the day, a non profit is about money. If you can’t fund it, you don’t have one.”

Umbilical cords, like blood and plasma, are things you can’t just sell. (Contrary to popular belief, you donate plasma and they compensate you for your time). Yet, when a hospital or pharmaceutical industry buys blood or plasma, that is extremely expensive. There’s a reason why the Red Cross can afford to pay its executives so much.

My first impression is that a non-profit that stores umbilical cords would easily be able to acquire them. (My wife and I would donate our child’s.) This increase of supply would almost certainly lower the per unit cost of preservation. In addition what is the value of finding a cord that matches an individual’s needs? That blood would also be very valuable and would certainly be able to help fund some of this venture. In addition to that, wouldn’t it be awesome to help so many people?

This is an undertaking I would love to be involved in, although right now I’m pretty busy battling global illiteracy. If anyone has heard of a social venture like this taking place, please let me know.