What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are the “mother cells,” which give rise to all of the cells in the human body. Stem cells are at the forefront of one of the most fascinating and revolutionary areas of biology today. Scientists are rapidly discovering many revolutionary uses for stem cells, because they have the unique capability to either multiply or develop into other cell types. There are different types of stem cells. A “hematopoietic” stem cell is the type collected from the umbilical cord blood. Cord blood stem cells can multiply and develop into the major components of bone marrow, blood, and the immune system.
Ongoing stem cell research is spawning ever-increasing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell, and most importantly, how healthy cells can replace damaged cells. This latter filed is often referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine and stem cells are currently being used to treat more than
80 acute and chronic diseases.
Stem cells hold the potential of allowing researchers to grow and rejuvenate specific cells or tissues, which may ultimately be used to treat many more diseases.
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When Are Stem Cells Used?
Patients suffering from a malignant disease, such as leukemia, may undergo treatment with radiation or chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells in their body. Radiation and chemotherapy treatments are often successful in destroying the cancer cells. However, they may also destroy the patient’s healthy cells and bone marrow in the process.
Bone marrow is essential for the production of blood cells. If the bone marrow is destroyed, either from a malignant, non-malignant or genetic disorder, a stem cell transplant becomes necessary. Transplanted stem cells re-populate the bone marrow, which replenishes the body’s supply of red blood cells.
Every year, a growing number of patients are diagnosed with diseases that can be treated by bone marrow transplantation. The problem with this option is the lack of availability for an exact Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) type match, which determines whether a patient has a suitable donor for stem cell transplant. Almost 50% of these patients are unable to find a donor using donor registries. It is even more difficult for African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and other ethnic minorities or those with mixed ethnicities to locate donors.
Using a family member’s stored stem cells offers patients in need a higher probability of finding an exact or acceptable match for their transplantation needs. The probability that the stem cells will be an exact HLA type blood match is as follows: 1/1 for the child the stem cells were collected from, 1/2 for the mother and father of the child, and 1/4 for a sibling of the child, whose stem cells are saved. In addition, stem cell transplantation from umbilical cord blood is less likely to cause “graft vs. host disease”—an immune attack on the recipient by cells from a donor—and other complications relating to the body rejecting foreign cells rather than a stem cell transplantation derived from a bone marrow donor.
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How Long Has Science Known About Stem Cells in Umbilical Cord Blood?
Although cord blood has only recently received widespread media attention, the first successful cord blood transplant took place in France in 1988, for a child with Fanconi’s Anemia, a rare congenital anemia. In 1991, a transplant was performed on a child with chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. Both transplants were successful, opening the door to cord blood transplantations for situations in which traditional bone marrow had been routinely used. Since then, approximately two-thirds of the cord blood transplants (more than 2,000 to date) performed have been for malignant conditions, while the remainder have been done for a variety of genetic blood disorders. Overall, cord blood transplants offer a high rate of success, which continues to grow as the number of transplants rises.
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Which Diseases Can Be Treated with Cord Blood?
There is a wide range of diseases that are treatable with cord blood, including stem cell disorders, acute and chronic forms of leukemia, myeloproliferative disorders and many more.
Click here
for a comprehensive list. It’s important to note that, in addition to the host of conditions that can now be treated, it’s the potential of cord blood that holds the most excitement, as research continues to uncover new possibilities.
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How Long Can Cord Blood Cells Be Stored?
While the science is still fairly new, according to published research (Transplantation, 1998:65 (9): 1275-1278), blood-forming stem cells stored up to 15 years can be used in transplants. In fact, most research indicates that stem cells slow-rate frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen are viable for an indefinite period.
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What is Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD)?
GVHD is an immune system attack by donor cells against the recipient and can sometimes occur following bone marrow transplants.
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Why is Cord Blood the Premier Source of Stem Cells?
Umbilical cord blood stem cells are controversy-free and offer advantages over other types of stem cells. While your baby’s own stem cells are a perfect match (100%), there is a good probability of a match for siblings, parents and or grandparents. While stem cells have been in the news more and more these days, few understand that there are different types of stem cells:
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Adult Stem Cells: Adult stem cells are found in bone marrow (the vehicle carrying these stem cells) and require invasive surgery to acquire. Also, finding a matching donor for a bone marrow transplant via a public bank can be difficult and sometimes impossible.
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Embryonic Stem Cells: Derived from an embryo (sperm meets the egg) are highly controversial and often in the news and at the heart of many moral and ethical debates.
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Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells: Umbilical cord blood offers a perfectly natural, controversy-free method of acquiring stem cells. (The Vatican approves of cord blood banking.) Cord blood stem cells offer many advantages over other stem cells. They are collected in a risk-free, 5-minute procedure at the time of birth that is painless for both mother and baby. Also, stem cells from cord blood are better than stem cells from bone marrow because they are less prone to “graft vs. host disease” (GVHD – an immune system attack by donor cells against the recipient) and other complications relating to the recipient body rejecting foreign cells. Most importantly,
banked cord blood is available when you and your family need it most, allowing treatment to begin almost immediately, without time spent searching for a match. Plus, cord blood stem cells are a perfect match for the baby and can potentially be used to treat other family members.
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How Is Umbilical
Cord Blood Collected?
Cord blood collection is simple and poses no risk to you or your baby. Immediately after your baby's delivery, the umbilical cord is clamped and the baby is separated from the cord. At this point, the needle attached to the collection bag is inserted into the vein in the umbilical cord. The placental blood/umbilical cord blood, drawn by gravity, then flows into the collection bag. The bag comes equipped with an anti-coagulant to keep the blood from clotting before it reaches our laboratory. Unlike traditional bone marrow collection, which usually requires general anesthesia and recovery, the process of collecting cord blood is non-invasive, painless and generally takes just three to five minutes to complete. NECBB will supply you with a cord blood collection kit prior to your baby's delivery date. You simply bring the kit to the hospital for the physician or midwife to collect the cord blood after you deliver.
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How Do I Get the Cord Blood Collection Kit?
The kit, including everything needed to collect the cord blood and prepare it for shipping to our laboratory, is sent to you via Priority Mail. After you sign up with NECBB, you should receive the collection kit within two to three days.
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Do You Use Blood Bags or Syringes for Collection?
We have always used blood bags for collecting umbilical cord blood, as they’ve been deemed the safest and most effective. Our Baxter collection bags are the same as those used by both The International and American Red Cross. Our average collection amount is 87ml per collection. In more than 7,000 samples surveyed, we experienced less than 1/10th of 1% contamination using the blood bags. We have surveyed nurses and midwives that use our services and the majority (89%) prefers the blood bag to the syringe for ease of use and quickness.
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What Happens Once the Blood Is Drawn?
Once the attending physician or midwife has completed the umbilical blood collection, your sample is either picked up by our local courier or by our Worldwide Shipper to be sent to our laboratory in Boston. If your blood is coming from a destination outside our local area, our Worldwide Shipper ships via priority overnight to ensure that your blood arrives within 72 hours of birth. We have entrusted our Worldwide Shipper with our business, and with the shipping of precious cord blood since our company began offering these services. They are the world’s leading shipper of diagnostic specimens.
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When Must I Decide?
It’s best to make the decision as early in your pregnancy as possible. Having the collection kit early in the pregnancy can lower your anxiety; in case of early delivery, you’ll be prepared with the kit. But we know that you’re juggling a number of responsibilities before your baby comes, and we are here to help whenever you’re ready. We support the potentially life-saving choice you’re making to bank umbilical cord blood stem cells, and will do anything in our power to make the process as simple and efficient as possible.
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What Happens if I Deliver Early and I Have Not Received the Kit?
We offer detailed instructions on collecting umbilical cord blood without a collection kit. These instructions can be faxed or e-mailed to your delivering doctor, if needed. The blood would have to be collected using the syringe method, with an addition of an anti-coagulant to the blood to keep it from clotting before it reaches our laboratory to be processed. This is not our preferred method of collection, but it will allow for the safe collection and shipping of your baby’s blood to our laboratory to be processed and cryopreserved. The same methods of shipping apply once a suitable container is found to secure the syringe containing the umbilical cord blood.
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How Is the Kit Picked Up for Delivery to NECBB’s Laboratory?
Our Worldwide Shipper picks up your cord blood kit at the hospital as soon as the blood is collected. The kit is then shipped immediately to our laboratory for processing.
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How Do You Prevent the Cells from Freezing Damage?
NECBB’s cord blood processing technique includes full cell separation, a method designed to optimize viability and usability of your baby’s stem cells. To shield the stem cells from freezing damage, we use DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide), a cryoprotectant, which is washed out of the stem cells in the thawing and preparation process prior to transplantation. Research has shown that this methodology is the most successful in terms of cell recovery and, ultimately, for transplant results.
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How Are the Cells Stored?
Your baby’s cord blood stem cells are stored in six cryovials. With multiple storage units, it is not necessary to thaw your entire specimen at once; thus, NECBB offers the potential for multiple usage. The cryovials are designed specifically for long-term cryogenic storage. We also set aside three smaller samples, which can be used for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) type matching should the cells be needed for someone other than your baby. (HLA type matching determines whether a patient has a suitable donor for stem cell transplant.) One-hundred percent of the processed cells are preserved for your family and nothing is withheld for our use, a procedure unique to NECBB.
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What Happens to the Stored Cells in the Event of a Power Outage?
Our storage containers, called dewars, can maintain their internal temperatures within one degree for up to 30 days in case of a power failure. NECBB is further protected from power outages by a redundant, on-site electric generator system. Our facility also includes on-site storage of liquid nitrogen, eliminating the need for costly deliveries and the handling of smaller refill containers, all of which helps us control our expenses, which in turn keeps our service affordable.
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Where Is the Storage Facility Actually Located?
All processing and storage is done at our state-of-the-art facility in Newton, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb located near the heart of its famous medical district. The city is home to such well-known institutions as Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital, New England Medical Center, Tufts Medical School, Boston University Medical School, and Harvard Medical School. At no time in the process is your baby’s cord blood sent out to any third party for processing or storage.
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What If My Baby’s Cell Count Is Low?
If that is the case, we will notify
you immediately, giving you the
option to bank those cells, donate
them to a public bank or even have
them returned to you. In some cases,
cord blood banks will use those
cells for research, but at NECBB,
your cells will always belong to
you. Read the NECBB
contract and you’ll find that
we never seize your cells for any
purpose.
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What is the difference between a public and private cord blood bank?
When deciding what to do with your cord blood you have three choices: donate to a public bank, contract with a private bank or discard it as medical waste.
A public bank (non-profit) like the American Red Cross takes in donations for use of the greater public. A private bank (for-profit) offers you the opportunity to bank exclusively for you and your family making the stem cells available when you need them most, allowing treatment to begin almost immediately, without time spent searching for a match. Plus, cord blood stem cells are a perfect match for the baby and can potentially be used to treat other family members.
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Is the Company Public or Private?
We are a privately held family business. We have been in business since 1982, spanning three generations, providing high-quality cryogenic services to the medical community. We have been successfully processing cord blood for nearly a decade, and plan on doing so for many years to come.
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How Long Has NECBB Been Banking Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells?
NECBB has been processing and storing umbilical cord blood stem cells since 1995. Our laboratory, New England Cryogenic Center, has been a pioneer in the field of cryogenics since 1982 and of all of the cord blood banks in North America, NECBB is the most experienced in cryopreservation methods.
Driven by innovation and strong ethics, President John Rizza represents the third generation in his family to lead NECBB. Our Medical Director, Hans Klingemann, M.D., Ph.D., has a long history in hematology, transplantation and cell therapy. Their business and medical vision is executed by experienced employees with a wide variety of backgrounds, both medical and non-medical.
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How Many Privately Banked Family’s Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells Does NECBB Store?
We have banked cord blood for more than 20,000 clients to date and we continue to be one of the fastest-growing cord blood banks in the country. In fact, many doctors, nurses and midwives have selected NECBB as their cord blood bank of choice.
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How Does NECBB Ensure the Confidentiality of My Personal Information?
First, rest assured that NECBB does not share your information with any third party, for any reason. We use your information only to gauge how we can most effectively serve you. Our employees sign confidentiality agreements. Along with your insurance company and caregiver, we adhere to strict government regulations that may require us disclosure of certain, limited information under certain circumstances.
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Why Is It Important to Bank with a Licensed Provider?
NECBB is among the first cord blood banks to enter into a licensing agreement with
PharmaStem Therapeutics, Inc., the holder of five U.S. patents related to processing umbilical cord blood. By obtaining this licensing agreement, NECBB ensures that your cord blood will be processed without patent infringement. All past and future cord bloods processed and stored with NECBB are safe from future legal repercussions. Cord blood banks that do not enter into a licensing agreement with PharmaStem may be found guilty of willful patent infringement and your child’s cord blood may be jeopardized in the future.
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Will I receive confirmation that the cord blood has arrived
at your facility?
Yes, as soon as we've received your cord blood sample, we'll give you a courtesy call to let you know that it's arrived at our state-of-the-art processing and cryopreservation facility.
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How Much Does It Cost?
The costs for our services are as follows:
Initial Enrollment Fee JD 175
Administrative costs associated with establishing your family’s account, including your cord blood collection kit. The enrollment fee is a non-refundable deposit.
Processing and
Banking Fee JD 875
Due at the time your baby’s cord blood arrives at your lab, this fee includes all costs associated with the shipping and processing of your baby’s cord blood, and includes the following services:
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Our proprietary processing and cell separation method. This includes all necessary testing of the mothers and baby’s blood for sterility, viability, and cell count.
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Our
PharmaStem Therapeutics, Inc. patent licensing agreement that extends to your baby’s stem cells and your caregiver.
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Follow up materials to your caregiver, notifying them of your decision to preserve your baby’s cord blood.
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A written lab report is sent to your home, detailing the number of stem cells preserved.
Annual Storage Fee JD 150
This fee maintains your baby’s stem cells at our on-site cryogenic storage facility.
Total First-Year Fees JD 1,200
Our Four–Month, Interest-Free Payment Plan!
No credit approval necessary. Just call and sign up--it’s that simple. Ask your
BabyCord Jordan
Customer Care Representative about our plan today!
BabyCord Jordan
Prepayment Plan
Prepay and Save JD 600!
You can prepay the initial 20 years of storage with a one-time payment of
JD 2,400 (a
JD 600
savings when compares to our standard plan). Ask your
BabyCord Jordan
Customer Care Representative for more information.
Please Note: Fees apply to single birth, Continental U.S. customers only. Payments by check or credit card are due at enrollment. Cancellation fees may apply. Clients within NECBB affiliate countries must
contact the corresponding affiliate.
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When Is My Annual Storage Fee
Due?
Payment is due on or before the anniversary of your storage date. We try to make the process as easy as possible. Generally, we notify you 30 days before the anniversary of your storage date and we attempt to charge the credit card you have on file. If the charge is accepted, a receipt is sent to you for your records. If your credit card is declined, we will send you a notice requesting a new credit card or another form of payment, such as a check or money order.
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Can I Have Multiple Invoices Sent To Multiple Addresses Each Year?
Yes. Just be sure to contact us in advance each year and we will make your request is fulfilled.
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If I Choose the 20-Year Storage Option, and Needed to Use the Blood Before the Time Was Up, Would My Costs Be Reimbursed?
You would be refunded on a pro-rated basis.
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Will I Be Charged a Fee by My Caregiver for the Collection of My Baby’s Cord Blood?
Many caregivers charge a fee for the procedure of collecting umbilical cord blood. We suggest that you discuss this procedure with your caregiver prior to enrolling in our service to verify their agreement to perform the collection and determine their policy regarding a collection fee.
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Why Is NECBB’s Cost Lower Than That of Other Cord Blood Banks?
While it’s not unusual to see cord blood banking prices as high as $2,000, part of NECBB’s mission is to keep the cost affordable for as many families as possible. Because we perform every aspect of cord blood processing and preservation in-house, at our own laboratory, and because we own all our facilities, we’re able to keep pricing reasonable.
When you choose NECBB, you’re choosing the best value. For example, unlike other cord blood banks caught up in licensing litigation, NECBB is licensed and accredited by all the related agencies and major governing bodies in the industry, so you’ll never pay to fight our legal battles. In addition, you won’t pay for research, as we don’t do any, or for inflated sales commissions, as all our salespeople are salaried.
Giving families access to this technology remains one of our key goals today and it will remain so in the future.
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Is There Any Cost to Retrieve My Baby’s Stem Cells?
NECBB
charges you only a JD 50 withdrawal
fee for the costs associated with
preparing your sample for shipment.
You may be responsible for shipping;
however, insurers generally cover
that charge.
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2006 BabyCord Jordan
