Kelly McVey wrote:
- quote -

Storage of blood for an undefined future use would never be
deductible. However, storage of blood under the advice and
direction of a physician for a near term future use for the
treatment or prevention of disease of the newborn dependent
child or a dependent sibling would be deductible in my
opinion. As to the definition of near term: that would
require additional research on deductible medical expenses.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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- quote -

I hear that this is rather lucrative business for the
storage companies playing on the fears of new parents. The
annual storage fee is in the $1000-$2000 range with the
material rarely used.

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:

- quote -

Didn't he win?

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:

- quote -

I'd deduct that, too. It's not like there's a *non* medical
reason for freezing sperm.

Phoebe

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Christopher Green wrote:
- quote -

Thank for the clarification. I am NOT medically inclined,
and even hate the sight of blood (unless communist or Nazi
blood!).

Agree of course if there is an immediate need then
deductible; however long term storage, whether cord blood or
Ted William's body, then no.

But then...didn't someone try to deduct storage costs of
frozen sperm once?

Cheer$$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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Harlan Lunsford <lunstax[at]bellsouth.net> wrote:
- quote -

When a baby is born parents are given the option of storing
or donating the blood which is in the umbilical cord. It is
my understanding that it has the potential to be used for
therapeutic purposes (curing certain diseases) later in
life.

We have had several clients this year who have asked if the
expenses associated with storage of the cord blood is a
deductible medical expense. We've checked several resources
and have had no luck in devising an answer to this question.

Any guidance would be appreciated.
Kelly McVey, CPA

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I am not really sure waht cord blood storage is as well.
Sorry. I have found a lot of this mis. stuff confusing as
well. For the last couple of years, I kept calling my
friend, who is a CPA to ask him questions but as you can
imagine he is crazy busy this time of year. This year, I
finally broke down and bought TurboTax. I think that there
are other software programs as well but I saw it on the
Staples website when I was ordering a bunch of stuff and
thought that I would try it. For me, it has been a lot
easier because it asks you a lot of questions around random
house hold purchases and figures out for you if it is
deductible...might be something to think about.

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:
- quote -

When a baby is born, there are a number of things you can
opt to do with the blood that remains in the placenta and
umbilical cord:

1) Don't cut the cord until it stops pulsing, which gets
most of the blood into the baby (and doesn't leave enough
that most people would try to collect the cord blood). Baby
is at slightly higher risk of normally harmless jaundice,
but at lower risk of developing anemia later in babyhood.
Free.

2) Toss it away. Free.

3) Donate the cord blood for research or use by someone
unrelated. Cord blood is rich in stem cells, and is used
similarly to bone marrow for kids whose immune systems have
been wiped out by disease or chemotherapy. Free.

4) Save it in case your child or a sibling needs it in the
future (if their immune system was wiped out by disease or
chemotherapy). Hefty up-front fee, plus an annual storage
charge.

I vote for deductible medical expense, but I don't think
there's any official guidance.

Phoebe

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Harlan Lunsford <lunstax[at]bellsouth.net> wrote:
- quote -

"Cord blood" is blood taken from the umbilical cord when a
baby is born. In some circumstances, most notably childhood
leukemia, it is a valuable source of transplant material.

In circumstances where there is a clear family need, such as
a sibling with leukemia, storing cord blood for use in
treatment may be medically necessary. I would not hesitate
to consider this a legitimate medical expense.

But there is a lot of flim-flam and scare-tactic promotion
being done by commercial cord blood storage enterprises. I
would question strongly whether storing cord blood as
"family insurance" in the absence of a documented medical
need is at all necessary or even appropriate.

See the National Marrow Donor Program's FAQ on cord blood at
http://www.marrow.org/FAQS/cord_blood_faqs.html

--
Chris Green

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Kelly McVey wrote:

- quote -

I don't really know, but would like to know what "cord blood
storage costs" are.

Cheer$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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