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Family Bank: CordVida

CordVida

About

CordVida is a leading national stem cell bank in Brazil, with the most transplants among private cord blood banks in this country, and a high average cell count of stored units. CordVida was the first family cord blood bank in Brazil to obtain AABB accreditation. Today, CordVida is part of CryoHoldCo, and provides laboratory operations in São Paulo for all the CryoHoldCo companies in Brazil.

Labs and Locations

CordVida laboratory is within their headquarters: Rua Alvarenga 2226, Butantã, São Paulo, 05509-006, Brazil

Business Experience

CordVida was founded in 2004 by the Klien Group, an organization with more than 90 years of experience in storage and logistics. In addition to cord blood banking, in 2012 CordVida launched the service of collecting cord tissue. CordVida was the first family cord blood bank in Brazil to obtain AABB accreditation.

in April 2021 CordVida was acquired by CryoHoldco, a private equity investment of ACON Investments. The laboratory of CordVida was selected by CryoHoldCo to consolidate the laboratory operations in São Paulo for all their companies in Brazil.

Collection Kit

Supplies are provided for gravity collection into a JP blood bag holding CPD anti-coagulant. The disinfectant wipes hold chlorhexidine. The cord blood collection kit as well as the specimen jar for cord tissue are sterile both inside and outside, so that they may be used in the operating room for a C-section delivery.

Transportation container

The transportation container has ice packs and thermal insulation. It is validated to maintain temperature within 2 to 24 degrees C for up to 48 hours under test conditions. The temperature stability of the biological material is monitored by recording the maximum and minimum temperatures reached during transport.

Shipping Info

CordVida can collect the biological material in any city in Brazil, as long as the location has a logistics network that allows the material to arrive in time to be processed and stored in the laboratory in São Paulo.

After the umbilical cord collection, CordVida sends specialized couriers specifically authorized to ship biologic material. The couriers are available on weekends and holidays as well.

Should the stored cord blood stem cells be needed for therapeutic use, the cost of shipping is included in the base price not only within Brazil but anywhere else in the world as well. Thera are no additional costs for the customer.  In that case, transport is carried out in portable nitrogen tanks (the “dry shippers”), ensuring the best conditions for the safe transport of these samples.

Processing Method

Technicians process the cord blood manually to separate the stem cells by sedimentation and centrifugation. 

Components Stored

The cord blood component that is stored after processing is the "buffy coat" that holds white cells and stem cells.  Also stored are a sample of maternal blood and some small testing portions of the cord blood. The parents are provided with a certificate describing the cord blood test results (cell counts, viability, microbiology).

Storage Method

The final storage is in a 25ml dual compartment bag with 20ml and 5ml segments. It is placed in long-term storage in a cryogenic freezer, the MVE Chart High Efficiency system, which is a tank filled with the vapor phase of cryogenic nitrogen. In this cryogenic freezer, the samples are stored in a shared way, in racks.

CordVida customized this technology in order to limit sharing to just eight samples per rack, a much lower number than the standard used in Brazil. This means less exposure of samples to temperature variations during storage.

Licensing & Accreditation

  • Licensed by National Ministry of Health via ANVISA (Brazilian FDA)
  • CordVida is accredited by AABB for cord blood processing
  • CordVida is the only laboratory in Brazil accredited by AABB for Somatic Cell activities

Clinical Experience

CordVida has released 12 cord blood units to be used in transplants or therapy in Brazil, Europe, and the United States, including 3 children treated at Duke University for Cerebral Palsy. 

Community Service

Through its “Coleta Solidária” (Solidarity Collection) program, CordVida provides free banking to families where an immediate relative has a diagnosis for which transplantation is standard therapy. CordVida also provides discounts to medical doctors.

Prices

The current (August 2022) CordVida standard prices

  • Cord Blood collection and processing fee: R$ 3,000 (US$ 580) + annual storage fee: R$ 750 (US$ 145)
  • Cord Blood & Cord Tissue collection and processing fee: R$ 4,200 (US$ 810) + annual storage fee: R$ 1,300 (US$ 250)
  • Multi-year storage plans available for 5, 10, and 18 years
  • Depending on the city where the collection will be done an additional freight cost may be added to the collection fee.
Address: Rua Alvarenga, 2226 - Butantã, São Paulo, 05509-006, Brazil