Private umbilical cord blood banks like Smart Cells International offer benevolent grandparents and parents a ‘most original gift’, tinged with the glamour of the stem cell technologies. Umbilical cord blood banking plays on parents' natural wish to do everything possible for their child, even if the ‘healing powers’ of stem cells are so far largely theoretical. If there is a possible enormous benefit to be gained, and no risk of harm, then a Pascal's Wager strategy would still dictate in favour of cord blood banking, however speculative and distant that benefit might be. Just as Pascal counselled doubters to wager on the existence of God because the benefit to be gained is eternal bliss, no matter how shaky the grounds for belief might appear, so parents might regard banking cord blood as a good investment because the potential return is of such enormous value, however inchoate the stem cell technologies' promises of cure might be at present.