This issue is why I started Forever Labs (YCS17). We bank your stem cells. Immunity presents many difficult problems to be solved. I’d rather worry about the therapeutic developments alone rather than add immunity on top of it.
I'm a little curious how something like this works within the economic framework of a startup. How do you reconcile the inherently long-term nature of your business (I might need my stem cells in a decade or two) with the inherent instability of a startup (you might go out of business within 3 years)?
The annual storage fees ($250/yr) cover our banking costs. The banking needs little more than invoicing to remain viable, and with the numbers we have banked, it could survive as a stand-alone entity, or would be an asset that could be acquired by another banking service. My cells are in there, as are those of many of my family members. I want them available 20 years from now. Of course, we aspire to mature beyond a startup, and are getting there. :)
What is the value prop for extracting and storing stem cells now vs. extracting them later? Is it just that you’ll have to extract less bone marrow now vs later? Isn’t there a decline in quality and quantity of viable stem cells when they’re stored?
There's actually a significant decline in quality and quantity that continues with age. That's why we cryopreserve them. If brought down to liquid nitrogen temp properly, they can remain viable nearly indefinitely.
