A Cord Blood bank can be both a private and public institution that stores umbilical Cord Blood for future use to combat diseases and genetic disorders. These banks were developed in the mid 1990’s as result of the success in treating blood diseases and immune system disorders with the use of Cord Blood transplants. Once [...]
NYTimes: New Ligaments Grown with Cord Blood
Almost a year ago in a regular game of NBA basketball between the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte Bobcats, one of the most horrific injuries the sport has ever seen occurred to one of the brightest new stars in the league - Shaun Livingston.
The injury occured after Livingston stole the pass from the opposing team [...]
Consent forms for Informed Donors
It is very important that parents who choose to donate their child’s Cord Blood go through an “informed” consent process. Federal law requires that parents sign a consent form before Cord Blood is collected. Ideally, the consent form should reveal the possible final uses of the Cord Blood. There are also medical requirements for donation.
In [...]
What are the Pros and Cons of Separation of Mononuclear Cells?
Financial Con: Why bother? Common sense suggests there is no reason to process a sample when you don’t know if it will ever be used. Separation of MNC adds to the laboratory cost of processing, and this cost is passed on to the consumer. Financial Pro: Lower storage costs
The smaller the volume of the final [...]
What is separation of Mononuclear Cells?
A few private Cord Blood banks freeze the blood whole, while most process it. There are two stages of processing: Volume Reduction and Separation.
Volume Reduction can be accomplished either by sedimentation or spinning in a centrifuge. (Note: sedimentation uses a chemical called “Hespan Starch” or “Hetastarch” which is made by Dupont Pharmaceuticals.) Afterwards, the blood [...]
How much cord blood do I actually need?
In other words, how much Cord Blood is needed to be confident of a successful transplant? The crucial thing is not the volume of the blood sample, but the number of Stem Cells it contains. These are measured with a stain “CD34+” that picks out all mononuclear cells, including Stem Cells.
The “optimal (transplant) dose [...]
Sudden Need for Cord Blood
Sibling that currently needs a transplant
Sibling that may need a future transplant
Other family member that may need a future transplant
(1) Sibling that currently needs a transplant: If an older sibling currently needs a transplant, most medical insurance carriers, even Medicaid, will cover the cost of collecting Cord Blood. (2) Sibling that may need a future [...]
Experimental Cord Blood Treatments for Diseases
These are diseases for which Stem Cell treatments have not been proven to have any efficacy in human beings. In a “Phase I” clinical trial, the purpose of the study is to find out if the therapy makes any difference in the course of the disease, as compared to a control group. Some doctors may [...]
Clinical Trials of Diseases tread by Cord Blood
These are diseases for which Stem Cell treatments have been shown beneficial, but have not been adopted as standard therapy. For some of these diseases, Stem Cell transplants only slow the progression of the disease, but do not produce a cure. For other diseases, Stem Cell treatments may effect a cure, but the optimum dosage [...]
Standard Therapy for Diseases treated with Cord Blood
These are diseases for which Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants (HSCT) are a standard treatment. For some diseases they are the only therapy, and in other diseases they are only employed when front-line therapies have failed or the disease is very aggressive. Most of the diseases for which HSCT is a standard treatment are disorders of [...]
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Google News: Cord Blood
- Another Day, Another Battle : GoIp Global & Cord Blood America - istockAnalyst.com (press release)
- Featured Clinical Trial: Extending Targeted Immune Depletion to Unrelated Cord ... - NCI Cancer Bulletin
- Histostem Works With Korean Government Agency to Provide Cord Blood Storage ... - MarketWatch (press release)
- Market Watch for Cord Blood America Inc. Issued by Beacon Equity - CNNMoney.com (press release)
- Elusive match - The Keene Sentinel