Stemcyte Family

StemCyte Family

INTERNET: www.StemCyteFamily.com

PHONE: 866-389-4659

OFFICE: StemCyte, Arcadia, CA

STORAGE: StemCyte, Arcadia, CA

Accreditation: AABB, FACT/Netcord, NJ, NY

COMMENT: StemCyte is a global for-profit company which started as a public Cord Blood bank that participates in the National Marrow Donor Program Cord Blood registry. StemCyte has one of the world’s largest collections of Asian and Latino Cord Blood collections and is one of six banks funded by the federal govt to expand the National Cord Blood Inventory. The StemCyte Family division offers private cord blood banking at the same laboratory.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• List of transplants; two were privately banked and the rest are from the StemCyte public bank.
• StemCyte Family shares the laboratory of the NMDP public bank StemCyte. Family bank collections are processed by the same protocol but stored in separate dedicated freezers with their own security identification system.
• StemCyte Family is the only family cord blood bank which uses a lab with FACT/Netcord Accreditation.
• StemCyte Family is the only family bank which provides a temperature-controlled shipping container.
• Price includes shipping by Quick International medical courier.
• The StemCyte processing method stores plasma-depleted whole blood, rather than separated mononuclear cells by red cell depletion. StemCyte claims that their units have 90% recovery of mononuclear cells.
• StemCyte offers family customers a LifeSaver Quality Guarantee: If a family unit is somehow damaged in processing, StemCyte will replace it at no cost with the closest match available in their public inventory, which is currently (April 2006) 25,000 units.
• Discounts: Early enrollment at least 8 weeks before due date discount $100; Full payment upon enrollment discount $150; Full payment upon delivery discount additional $100.
• Additional discounts available to medical professionals and active military personnel.
• Further discounts may be available: call for details.
• Annual storage fee fixed. First year storage included in processing fees.
• Refer a friend, get one year free storage or $100.
• Charity Program: Call to apply for assistance if a family member has a case of medical need.

ADDITIONAL information: StemCyte was founded in the year 2000 with $20 million in venture capital; StemCyte Family started in 2004. In summer 2005, a press release from StemCyte claimed that an additional $13.7 million had been raised for operations in the United States and Taiwan. In addition to participating in the USA National Cord Blood Inventory, StemCyte also operates the national public cord blood bank in Taiwan. StemCyte is participating in the following clinical trials:

• Thalassemia – StemCyte has been collaborating on a multi-center study of cord blood transplantation as a treatment for Thalassemia Major in Taiwan. A total of 45 patients were treated with unrelated cord blood transplants at 14 different transplant centers. Dr. Robert Chow, Global Medical Director for StemCyte, presented results from this study on behalf of Dr. Jaing at the Dec. 2006 ASH meeting, and the abstract is published in the journal Blood.

• Spinal Cord Injury - StemCyte is conducting a clinical trial in Taiwan which hopes to accrue 60 patients to study the use of cord blood to repair Spinal Cord Injury. This trial is in collaboration with Dr. Wise Young of the Rutgers University W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience.

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