This is an article written up today that shows a little more about a cord blood bank located Las Vegas, Nevada called Cord Blood America, Inc. They are the parent company of CorCell, the first licensed private cord blood bank in the USA. They are one of many private cord blood banks in the country and around the world that store umbilical cord blood stem cells for use exclusively for the enrolling family. I have researched cord blood banks and the industry for 3 years now and and while for the most part all serve the same purpose and provide nearly the same services, each has unique qualities and services to distinguish themselves. With approximately 30,000 samples stored presently according to the article, my research tells me they would be the 4th largest private bank in the USA along with an international presence with operating labs in China, Europe, and South America.
2 things that I believe separate CorCell from some competitors are their processing and collection services they utilize. The company uses what I believe is the most superior collection kit on the market, the PALL Medical's Cord Blood Sterile Collection Bag which is good for both vaginal and cesarean section deliveries and also maintains a sterile field at all times during collection lessening the risk of contamination to the collected cord blood. The second thing is their processing system is second to none in the BioE PrepaCyte CB sterile cord blood processing system. In an industry report, the BioE system ranked highest across the board versus other processing systems on the market today. These are 2 VERY IMPORTANT factors in the whole cord blood collection and storage process and in my opinion Cord Blood America uses nothing but the best for their clients.
I have to disagree with a few points made by the author regarding the curative effects of using related cord blood stem cells (those banked privately by parents) vs unrelated donors (those donated to a national registry by parents electing not to bank privately). First let me be clear that I am not saying that one option is better than the other, I think that both are vital to the treatment and cures of these horrible diseases such as leukemia, bone marrow disorders, lymphoma, and neuroblastoma just to name a few. IT IS THE PARENTS DECISION and should always be that way. I personally stored both of my children's cord blood and think it was the best decision I ever made for their future well-being. It is an insurance policy of sorts that I pray I never have to use but my wife and I sleep well at night knowing that should that day ever come, we took every step possible to safeguard their futures. Could a related match of cord blood stem cells not be the right type for a particular disease or treatment? OF COURSE! But my children's lives are PRICELESS and we would rather err on the side of caution and be prepared because if the tables were turned and a related match was needed for treatment, you cannot turn back time to retrieve them. I don't believe that their should be any debate on private vs. public but rather channel that discussion to increasing storages across the board on a global scale.
"Reality is different. Leukemia, bone marrow failure, immune deficiency, metabolic diseases and sickle cell anemia — the diseases cord blood is typically needed for — require transplants of healthy cells. The cord blood of a child with leukemia would also carry the disease."
---This is just one link of many that can be found on my blog showing how related cord blood stem cells are curing such diseases as leukemia. I could list many more but I think the statement from the article above has some misguided wording.
“If you have the money, and you want to bank your child’s own cord blood, you’re essentially investing in one of two things,” said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of the Duke Pediatric Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program. “One, the possibility that another child in your family will need that cord blood, and that it matches. Or two, that somewhere in the future there will be new developments and new uses for your child’s cord blood — say in regenerative medicine or cell therapy. But to date, none of those exist.”
---I have conflicting views with this statement as Dr. Kurtzberg, who I want to say clearly is a brilliant doctor and an imperative collaborator in the whole cord blood industry, because my view is this is meant to advocate the public donation and downplay the private side of the equation. She is a Medical Director for BOTH AND I REPEAT BOTH a private and public cord blood bank. just my opinion.
"While a few rare diseases, such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma, use stem cells taken from a patient’s own body, the chances of a child having these are vanishingly small. The chances are so small, in fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend private cord blood storing. Parents should only consider it, they say, if a family member has a disease that could be treated with stem cell transplants."
----The video below is a clip from one of the pioneers in the cord blood industry. Dr. Rubenstien states that over "50% of the transplants in the united states for children are using cord blood and 20% for adults." That does not seem to be rare to me and those are not all just public transplants, they are including both. Watch the video and let THE PARENT make the choice on their on education and information.
This is one of my latest links on my blog and I will let you the reader decide.
In the study, results showed that the 3 year survival rate after a cord blood stem cell transplant was 95% using a related donor vs. 61% from an unrelated donor.
"Conclusions In patients with hereditary bone marrow failure syndromes, related umbilical cord blood transplantation is associated with excellent outcomes while increasing cell dose and better HLA matching might provide better results in unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation."
I hope that my post here does nothing more than provide a little more knowledge and insight into the cord blood banking industry. I am glad for any news about cord blood banking or a particular cord blood bank because it is for the greater good but I feel the views were presented in a somewhat biased opinion and that if one does further research they will see that in the end, the main thing is that SAVING YOUR BABY'S CORD BLOOD SAVES LIVES AND IT COULD BE YOUR OWN CHILD!!!!
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