I have seen people succesfully filling the the whole space of the crank thread with weld, then re-manufacturing the thread in a turning/lathing shop.
I have done this to a bent/stripped derailer hanger of a steel frame, and it worked perfectly.
I think you could weight price, availability and safety of each alternative, but very probable that replacing the crank is the wisest thing to do, unfortunately.
It might not be so in case of a very expensive (and high quality) crank, but if the crank is medium or low priced, replacing is the way to go.