Family Bank: BabyCord Jordan

About

BabyCord is the first and so far the only family cell bank licensed by the Jordan Ministry of Health, registered with the US FDA,and accredited by AABB. BabyCord provides storage of stem cells isolated from umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue. Currently, BabyCord serves clients from Jordan and other regional countries and performs all cell and tissue banking activities at their own state-of-the-art facility, that is set up with the highest American and European standards, located in Amman Jordan. We are available seven days a week, 365 days a year. BabyCord has medical advisors available to speak with parents 7 days a week.

Labs and Locations

BabyCord Jordan laboratory is strategically located twenty minutes from Amman city congestion and five minutes from the Queen Alia International Airport, in a highly secure lab complex.

Business Experience

BabyCord Jordan was initially established in 2005 to market and facilitate the collection and transportation of cord blood units for family banking at the New England Cord Blood Bank (NECBB) in the USA. Since 2016, BabyCord Jordan is operating an independent laboratory led by a full team of medical advisors and experts in scientific and regulatory aspects of cell banking. They have developed a fully functional facility for cell an tissue banking under current Good Tissue and Manufacturing Practices (GTP/GMP). The BabyCord Jordan facility in Amman is expertly designed and equipped to assure operational stability with different laboratories assigned for samples receipt/qualification, processing/freezing, product characterization, cryo-storage and research development. Collectively, the team at BabyCord Jordan has more than 100 years of experience in the development of health care business, stem cell transplantation, laboratory medicine and production & banking of therapeutic cells. Moreover, BabyCord has expanded cell banking services as a biobank to include dental pulp stem cell banking, as well as ovarian tissue and testicular tissue cryopreservation.

Collection Kit

BabyCord Jordan is staffed 24/7 with a professional medical team that is available to be present at the time of delivery to perform the cord blood and tissue collection. All collections are performed by the BabyCord Jordan team of dedicated nurses using both collection techniques (in-utero and ex-utero) to ensure the largest possible volume of cord blood is retrieved, and maintain premium service under aseptic conditions.

BabyCord provides a collection kit with the following features :

• Cord blood collection bag that is US-FDA and/or CE certified with anti-coagulant Citrate Phosphate Dextrose solution (CPD).
• Supplied with cord disinfection reagents, test tubes for collection of maternal blood, and cord tissue transport media in specialized container.
• The components of the kit are sterile for use in the operating room during a C-section delivery.
• Temperature-monitored during the transportation to ensure the integrity of the samples.

Transportation container

Domestic/National Transport:

Freshly collected cord blood is transported using customized Styrofoam-lined insulated boxes with temperature regulated gel packs. All containers have been validated to maintain room temperature under extreme hot and cold weather conditions. The BabyCord Jordan transporter is guaranteed to maintain room temperature for over 72 hours. All cord blood units arrive at our 24-hour facility within 2 hour of collection and no later than 4 hours, ensuring optimum viability of the extracted and stored stem cells.

International Transport:

For freshly collected products, we use the Nanocool system in our kits.  This innovative technology maintains the samples at required temperatures for up to 96 hours at the press of a button. 

Transportation for therapy:

For cryopreserved products, to be transported for patient therapy, we provide free of charge a vacuum-jacketed liquid nitrogen dry shipper charged with LN2 and qualified to maintain temperature below -150 ◦C for an extended shipment time of 7-10 days.  Conditions of product transportation and shipment is continuously monitored using certified temperature loggers.

Shipping Info

BabyCord Jordan staff are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for any cord blood collection and shipping arrangements. We have special arrangements regarding courier transport of cord blood from anywhere in the region and this can be facilitated by us in the event that you are sending the cord blood from outside of Jordan. This ensures that we always process as soon as possible, enabling us to deliver the most viable stored cord blood samples possible.

Processing Method

BabyCord Jordan offers a variety of processing methods to ensure the optimum stem cell recovery from your child's cord blood.

BabyCord processes cord blood using hydoxyethylstarch (HES) to assure high cell recovery, combined with any of the following methods:

1.    Automated Methods:

• a) Using Sepax 2 functionally closed and automated separation technology. This is a state-of-the-art platform introduced by Biosafe SA of Switzerland (since acquired by Cytiva of USA) that utilizes single-use kits and carries a 510(K) medical device clearance from the US-FDA.
• b) Using AutoXpress Platform® (AXP) from Thermogenesis, another automated and functionally closed method that ensures optimum stem cell recovery and adopted by many stem cell banks worldwide.

2.    Manual processing is selected for processing for small collections because the procedure can be customized as needed. The procedure is performed by trained laboratory specialists following sedimentation followed by spin protocol. The entire process can be performed in a controlled system, greatly reducing the chances of external contamination while processing.

Components Stored

1.    Cord Blood stem cells are stored in a 25 mL dual compartment cryo bag, with 3 integrally attached segments containing a product-representative sample that are stored to confirm product identity (HLA type and ABO/Rh blood group) and quality (cell count and viability) prior to the time where these cells may be required for treatment.
2.    Maternal Blood Sample: testing performed for infectious diseases tests like HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HTLV, CMV, Syphilis & NAT (HIV1 RNA, HBV DNA & HCV RNA) at the time of processing and storage.
3.    Additional maternal serum & plasma are also preserved for future testing purposes, if any.
4.    Cord Blood Sample Testing: ABO grouping and RH typing, Total Nucleated Cell (TNC) count, CD34 cell count, cell viability, microbial culture for sterility testing, and testing for hemoglobinopathies.
5.     Additional Testing: HLA typing is offered anytime for the newborn. If the cord blood unit is retrieved for therapy, additional tests are performed at no cost to the client.

Storage Method

• Each unit of cord blood that arrives at the BabyCord Jordan laboratory is given a unique identifying number. Once the cord blood is processed, it is stored in dual cryobag .
• To shield the stem cells from freezing damage, we use the traditional cryo-protection solution: 10% DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide)/ 1% Dextran. The bag is then placed in an over-wrap to provide an additional safety during storage, then is cooled in a computer-controlled rate freezing system and finally stored in our liquid nitrogen (LN2) tanks.
• This freezing process ensures the safety of the baby’s cells and allows long-term storage at temperatures more than -180◦C.
• The frozen cord blood stem cells are stored in tanks located in our constantly monitored, secure laboratory facility. Frozen banked bags are easily tracked and clearly marked with the baby’s maternal name, date of processing, and contents, as well as its unique Cord Blood (products) Identification Number.  
• Our storage Liquid nitrogen tanks are auto-filled with LN2 and can maintain their internal temperatures below -150°C for up to three weeks without any electric input, in case of failure or natural disasters.
•  The BabyCord Jordan facility is further protected from power outages by two on-site electric generators that also have a further third back up system.

Licensing & Accreditation

• Licensed by the Jordanian Ministry of Health since2016.
• Accredited by ISO for general quality practices ISO 9001-2015, ISO 14001-2015 and ISO 45001-2018, since 2015
• Accredited by AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) since 2018.
• US-FDA registered for collection, processing, testing, storage of cord blood since 2020
• All tests are done applying internally validated methods or at CAP/ISO 15189 accredited laboratories.
   

Clinical Experience

BabyCord Jordan has released 4 cord blood units for therapy at both the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) in Jordan and at the Duke University Medical Center in the United States.

Insurance

• Parents are provided with a personalized certificate from the lab director and quality manager outlining the results of the cord blood processing. Clients may also receive personal contact from the director to discuss any results that may be out of the reference range or need further explanation.
• If the cell count or viability is low, we notify the client and provide them the option to continue banking those cells or discard them.
• If the cord blood for any reason is lost or destroyed, BabyCord will compensate the client. Moreover, the BabyCord facility and laboratories are fully insured against all risks.

Community Service

• Our community service program has been set up for families who currently have a child in need of a stem cell transplant, and who are banking a newborn's umbilical cord blood with the intention that it will be used for the sick sibling.
• For eligible cases, BabyCord Jordan will waive all enrollment and storage fees. We are committed to sponsor families who have a child with a known and treatable blood disorder who cannot afford the service for the aim of treatment.
• Discounts are available for twins and triplets and previous clients. BabyCord Jordan sponsors certain projects focusing on the increase of public awareness and cell therapy research and regularly participates in public and medical related exhibitions and conferences.

Prices

BabyCord prices vary by cuontry. The price includes 30 years of storage.

Additional Services

1.    Storage of umbilical cord tissue:
BabyCord Jordan current policy is to store segments (pieces) of umbilical cord tissue, free of charge, in parallel with banked cord blood units. Cord tissue is excellent source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are proving useful for use in the field of regenerative medicine.

2.    Neonatal screening:
BabyCord Jordan, complementary to cord blood and tissue banking and at no additional cost, offers a complete neonatal screening for metabolic disorders at our laboratories.

3.    HLA Typing:
Further to the services above, BabyCord Jordan also offers free of charge Cord Blood (neonate) HLA screening for HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR1 alleles, when indicated.

4.    Dental Pulp Stem Cells Banking:
Dental Pulp Stem Cells can be extracted from children’s milk teeth, premolars from teenagers, and wisdom teeth from young adults. Dental stem cells hold a promise for a range of potential therapeutic applications and provides a convenient and affordable option for parents who missed the chance to preserve stem cells derived from the cord blood.

5.    Tissue banking for fertility preservation: Ovarian tissue and Testicular tissue

• BabyCord biological bank is proud to announce that we now provide Ovarian tissue cryopreservation as part of our medical services to the community. Ovarian tissue storage is a procedure that provides pre-pubertal girls and young women with the opportunity to restore their fertility at a later stage by freezing and preserving their ovarian tissue
• Currently, Testicular tissue cryopreservation is an opportunity for boys who are commencing cancer treatment (such as chemotherapy) that may affect their future fertility and their ability to conceive a child.

6.    Storage of stem cells in placental tissue:
The placental mesenchymal stem cells hold a promising potential in the treatment of neurological and immune disorders among other diseases which are currently under research.

7.    Pre-implantation Genetic Testing (including PGT-A, PGT-M):
BabyCord will provide genetic screening services with up-to-date technologies which offer a solution for investigating the chromosomal sequences in embryos from In vitro fertilization (IVF) prior to implantation. Such a service will provide parents with the greatest likelihood of a successful implanted pregnancy.