Smart Cells International, formerly known as Cryo-Care, currently has 10 offices around the world, including London, Hong Kong and South Africa. A company spokeswoman said there had been a considerable rise in business from Ireland in the last year, with numbers almost trebling compared to previous years.

The firm had planned to have an Irish office up and running by the start of this year, but the deal fell through at the last minute. However, it remains determined to set up here, despite a recent announcement from three Dublin maternity hospitals that they will not co-operate with parents who wish to have the procedure done unless it is for a specific clinical reason or at the request of the Irish Blood Transfusion Board.

"We know some of the Irish hospitals are not agreeable to the procedure but the demand is still there, " said the spokeswoman.

An estimated 100 Irish families have used Smart Cells in the last five years, 40 of whom approached the company in the last 12 months. Among these were Judith and Aidan Keohane from Bandon, Co Cork, who have had stem cells from two of their three children stored with Smart Cells.

Judith Keohane was first alerted to the possible benefits of the procedure when she read about it in Timemagazine, and realised that stem cells stored from the umbilical cord of a newborn baby can cure some types of cancer, as well as certain inherited disorders such as osteoporosis. Trials are also taking place to see if stem cells could cure cardiac diseases, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury and stroke.

"Friends of ours had a child who had been diagnosed with leukaemia, and it made us think, " said Keohane. "Even though we have no history of serious illness in our family, we still thought this would be a good way of giving our children the best possible chance at life."

After doing some research, the Keohanes decided to go ahead, and the entire process cost 1,800 for each child. "It is a lot of money, but the way I look at it is if my child got sick, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I hadn't done it, " said Keohane.

"In today's world, where some household appliances would be more expensive than this, it seemed like a small price to pay. It is like health insurance, and I'm hoping never to need it."

The procedure itself is noninvasive, and involves using a needle to remove the stem cells from the umbilical cord after the delivery of the baby.

The cells are put into a blood bag, and transferred to the storage facility in the UK, where they are frozen and held for 25 years. At that point, there is an option of renewing the contract.

"The first time we had it done was for our second child in Mullingar, " said Keohane.

"The doctor there had just returned from America and he was very positive about the whole thing, because it's so common over there. The second time, in Cork, the doctor had no problems doing it either. People were mostly just curious and intrigued about the whole thing."

The Keohanes said their families were very supportive of their decision, and they are mystified as to why some Irish maternity hospitals oppose it. "It's not harming anyone, " said Judith. "There's really nothing negative that I can see. The umbilical cord is a waste product of birth. It doesn't have a function, but by using the cells inside it, it might one day save a life."

The removal of stem cells from umbilical cords is one of the least controversial methods of harvesting the cells, but ethical issues have arisen in the past, such as in the case of Lisa and Jack Nash in the US. The couple's six-yearold daughter, Molly, was stricken with a deadly genetic disorder, and they decided to have another child who, with the aid of IVF treatment, would have the exact type of cells that would help save their daughter. A baby boy, Adam, was born, and stem cells collected from his umbilical cord were donated to Molly.

The Nashes said they had wanted another child anyway, and decided to help their sick daughter in the process.

But critics said the process represented an unwelcome step towards "designer babies".