Family Cord Blood Banks in the USA

INTERNET: www.alphacord.com
PHONE: 866-396-7283
OFFICE: Atlanta, GA
STORAGE: depends on the lab, see COMMENT
ACCREDITATION: varies depending on the lab

COMMENT: Alpha Cord is the only cord blood broker: they guarantee that parents will always pay less by contracting through them, rather than other marketing outlets for the same laboratory. Parents should carefully compare the services provided by the different outlets which serve the same laboratory. These are the laboratories which are currently accepting AlphaCord clients:

• AlphaCord / IL: "Chicago Stem Cell Bank" at ITxM / LifeSource
• AlphaCord / IN: "Indiana Stem Cell Bank" at The Genesis Bank
• AlphaCord / NJ: "New Jersey Stem Cell bank" at Community Blood Services

Feeder web sites:

• www.cordbloodquestions.com
  

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INTERNET: www.CordBancUSA.com
PHONE: 1-888-BIOBANC (1-888-246-2262)
OFFICE: Monterey, CA
STORAGE: Monterey, CA
ACCREDITATION: California Biologics (comparable to AABB)

COMMENT:
BioBancUSA is the parent company of CordBancUSA.  

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• CordBancUSA separates cells automatically with the AutoXpress Process (AXP) developed by  Thermogenesis/GE
• CordBancUSA stores cells in the autoated BioArchive freezer developed by Thermogenesis/GE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
BioBancUSA was founded in April 2007 to offer a new type of service: white blood cell banking.  This is essentially banking your mature immune system.  BioBancUSA is the exclusive licensee of the original patent for the collection, processing and cryopreservation technology of white blood cells.  CordBancUSA uses the same technology platform to process cord blood.

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INTERNET: www.cordblood-america.com

PHONE: 888-326-7235 (888-3-CORCELL)
OFFICE: Los Angeles, CA and Philadelphia, PA
STORAGE: Progenitor Cell Therapy, Hackensack, NJ
ACCREDITATION: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT: Cord Blood America is a publicly held (Nasdaq OTCBB:CBAI) holding company which owns the subsidiary banks Cord Partners and CorCell, and has acquired the cord blood banks CORD of NY and CureSource of NC.  Cord Blood America operates its cord blood business through CorCell companies, Inc. of Philadelphia.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Cord blood collections are processed at the laboratory of Progenitor Cell Therapy.  The transplant quota is mostly cord blood units released for transplants through public registries.  However, Corcell has released 4 units from family storage for transplant (3 to the donor child and 1 to a sibling).
  
• The laboratory processing uses sedimentation with hetastarch to separate MonoNuclear Cells from cord blood.  Bags are used for both the blood collection and the final storage of the processed cells.
  
• Progenitor Cell Therapy has FACT accreditation for cellular therapy products, but they do not yet have FACT/Netcord accreditation for cord blood processing.  Progenitor Cell Therapy has applied for AABB accreditation.
• Progenitor Cell Therapy laboratory follows cGMP (ie: cellular GMP) standards, which are above FDA requirements for cord blood processing.
• Live customer support is available 24/7; parents or physician can phone during delivery.
• Current (11/5/07) fees are $150 enrollment, $150 courier transport, $1500 collection and processing, and $125 annual storage, for a total first year fee of $1925.
  
• Payment plans are available.
  
• Charity Program: Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program was launched by CorCell Feb2004 to provide free banking to siblings of children with transplantable diseases.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The story of Cord Blood America begins with the cord blood bank Cord Partners, founded in 2003.  Cord Partners was a marketing company with offices in Los Angeles that used the cord blood laboratory of Community Blood Services in NJ.  On 28Jan2005, Cord Partners went public as part of the holding company "Cord Blood America" (Nasdaq OTCBB:CBAI).

On 28 Jan 2006, Cord Blood America purchased the assets of the cord blood bank Cryobank for Oncologic and Reproductive Donors (CORD) in Middletown, NY.  The 750 cord blood collections in storage and three dewars belonging to CORD were moved to the laboratory at Community Blood Services in NJ.

On 13 Oct 2006, Cord Blood America acquired CorCell, a Philadelphia company which has been marketing family cord blood storage since 1996.  In July 2004, CorCell had merged with the German cord blood bank VITA34, under a German holding company VITA34 International AG.  The acquisition by Cord Blood America severed the relationship between CorCell and VITA34.  Cord Blood America also purchased the CorCell inventory of approximately 10,000 cord blood collections held at the lab of Community Blood Services.   However, CorCell retained its operating name.  CorCell has many partnerships with health insurance companies.

On 21 Aug 2007, Cord Blood America acquired CureSource, a company headquartered in Charlestown, South Carolina which markets family cord blood storage and had recently switched its lab from the Medical University of South Carolina to Community Blood Services in NJ.

In Oct 2007, Cord Blood America stopped using the laboratory of Community Blood Services in NJ and switched to Progenitor Cell Therapy, located nearby in Hackensack NJ.  As of 11/5/07, none of the old inventory has been moved.  At this time, most of their cord blood banking is marketed under the name CorCell.

Progenitor Cell Therapy LLC was founded in 1997 by Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., and Robert A. Preti, Ph.D.  Dr. Pecora performed the first adult transplant of expanded cord blood.  Dr. Preti has been the Scientific and Laboratory Director of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), located in Hackensack, New Jersey.  Progenitor Cell Therapy acquired HUMC in March 1999 and upgraded it to a cGMP compliant facility which is experienced in all forms of stem cell engineering. 

Feeder web sites:

• www.cord-blood-stem-cells.com
• www.umbilical-cord-blood-bank.com
• www.umbilical-cord-blood-storage-banking.com

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INTERNET: www.cordblood.com
PHONE: 888-CORDBLOOD
OFFICE: San Bruno, CA
STORAGE: Tucson, AZ
ACCREDITATION: AABB, CA, MD, NJ, NY

COMMENT: CBR is one of the original family cord blood banks, has the world's largest cord blood inventory, and has the most experience with family transplants.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• List of CBR transplants.
• Real people, real stories of transplant patients who banked with CBR
  
• Video center: View films of cord blood collection, processing, transplant, etc.
• Option of syringe or bag collection kit, depending on physician/patient preference.
  
• Live customer support available 24/7; parents or physician can phone during delivery.
• No rush fees, but $150 discount for enrollment at least 60 days prior to due date.  
  
• Courier transport with Quick International provided for an additional flat fee of $150.
• Prior to Dec. 2006 CBR separated MonoNuclear Cells by Ficoll-Hypaque (F-H) centrifuge spinning and stored in vials.
• In Dec. 2006 CBR began separating MonoNuclear Cells with the AutoXpress Process (AXP)  developed by Thermogenesis/GE.   This method is an automated, fully closed and sterile system that yields final MNC recovery of 99.3%. 
  
• The AXP stem cell processing platform has 510(k) device clearance from the FDA.
  
• In 2007, CBR is operating processing lines with both F-H and AXP methods, but plans to phase out F-H once AXP validation is complete in late 2007.
  
• If the number of collected stem cells is low (for transplant use), parents are informed and given the choice to store it anyway or not store it and receive a full refund.
• Payment plans available, starting at $48/month for 60 months. Discounts for prepaid storage.
• Client Referral Program awards a year of free storage.  CBR also has a Gift Registry.
• Discounts $750 to clients with credentials as medical professionals.
• Collecting physicians are offered liability insurance of $5 million per occurrence and $10 million aggregate.
• Quality Service Guarantee: If you need to use your child's stem cells and they fail to engraft, you will receive a refund of all fees paid and an additional $50,000.
  
• Charity program: Designated Transplant Program [TM], in operation since 1995, offers free banking if a first or second degree relative of the baby has a disease treatable by transplantation.
• As of Feb 2008, CBR claims an inventory of 215,000 cord blood collections, and has released 66 for transplants.
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Cord Blood Registry (CBR) holds the first privately banked cord blood collection.  Founder David Harris, PhD, stored the cord blood from his son Alexandre in 1992.  The bank was originally housed in a lab at the University of Arizona, where Harris is a professor of immunology.  The business founder of CBR is CEO Tom Moore.  In 2004 CBR bought a new building next to the Tucson airport with 61,140 sq ft space and opened their lab there on 5 Dec 2005.  As of Feb 2007, CBR is the only one of the large private banks which continues to be privately owned. 

CBR originally adopted "Ficoll-Hypaque" processing for family storage.  This method of processing was and is routinely used in stem cell research labs because it results in a small final volume.  The blood goes through two cycles of hard centrifuge spinning to separate MonoNuclear Cells almost completely.  The final sample is small enough to fit in two or three 5cc vials.  Transplant doctors have successfully used dozens of CBR units processed by the Ficoll-Hypaque method. 

In 2006 CBR moved to automate their processing in anticipation of  future growth.   In Dec 2006 CBR started using the AutoXpress Process (AXP) automated processing system which yields 99.3% recovery of MNC.   The AXP platform stores blood in compartmented bags with integrally attached testing segments.  However, the AXP does not use ordinary blood bags, it uses special bags which are blow-molded and individually pressure tested.  CBR is the only family bank using the AXP system and is the main customer for Thermogenesis bag production.  As of June 2007, CBR processing lines are 20% F-H and 80% AXP.


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INTERNET: www.cordbloodsolutions.com
PHONE: 1-866-584-STEM (7836)
OFFICE: Alpharetta, GA
STORAGE: Community Blood Services, Allendale, NJ
ACCREDITATION: AABB

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Founded by Dr. Alan Einstein, an Internal Medicine/Critical Care physician in Atlanta.
• The cord blood laboratory at Community Blood Services handles all private cord blood units the same way, but each bank which stores at their lab has a separate freezer.
• The transplant quota is from the public bank at Community Blood Services.
• The Community Blood Services processing method (as of 1 Sept 2007) is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge.  The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use.  Because the anti-coagulant is already in the bag, the bag carries BLA licensure from the FDA.
• On weekends, shipping costs an additional $90. First year of storage is included in the processing fee.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:


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INTERNET:www.cordtrust.com
PHONE: 866-877-1838
OFFICE: Cambridge, MA
STORAGE: Hebron, KY, outside Cincinnati, OH.
ACCREDITATION: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT:
Cord Trust is a value brand subsidiary of Viacell, a publicly-traded biotech company (Nasdaq:VIAC) which also owns the family bank Viacord.   This brand has less aggressive marketing and customer service, but offers families the benefits of cord blood banking at a significant cost saving.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS: 

• Cord blood collection is with Baxter blood bags, not the sterile and closed Pall bags used by Viacord.
• Courier transport is available but shipments are carried by FedEx, not the next plane out service of Quick International.  Transport times are still under 48 hours.
• At the Viacell cord blood processing laboratory, CordTrust collections are processed on a separate line with a less expensive processing method.
• The CordTrust collections are manually processed to remove plasma, but not red-cell depleted.
• The parent company Viacell has provided cord blood for 11 transplants using this processing method.
  
• Final storage is in a single blood bag without compartments.
• No enrollment fee. First year storage included in processing fees.
• The first year cost of this program is $1200, payable in 12 monthly payments of $100.
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The CordTrust brand was launched just before Labor Day 2007.

INTERNET: www.cryo-intl.com  
PHONE: 800-869-8608 or 407-834-8333
OFFICE: Altamonte Springs, FL; near Orlando
STORAGE: Altamonte Springs, FL; near Orlando
ACCREDITATION: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT: Cryobanks International offers both public and private cord blood banking.  Cryobanks public bank has pioneered the national donation collection model, accepting donations mailed in from anywhere in the US.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Cryobanks is a participating member of the NMDP network of public cord blood banks as of 15 Dec. 2005.
• Cryobanks allows private customers to elect at any time to transfer their cord blood to the public banking program.  However, the NMDP will not allow transfered units to be used for transplants. 
• Shipping by FedEx for $50.  If a courier is required, for extra cost, Cryobanks prefers World Courier.
• First year's storage is included in the processing fee.
  
• Payment plans available.
• Discount 10% for medical professionals and active duty military personnel.
• Discounts for returning customers and for prepaid storage.
  
• Charity program: Free storage to families that have an imminent need for transplant.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The original name of this company was U.S. Cryobanks of Florida.  As of 28 Nov 2005, Cryobanks International became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Biostem, Inc. (OTC BB: BTEM).   The company Biostem had only existed for 10 days prior to this merger, and had previously been known as National Parking Systems Inc. (OTC BB: NPGS).  On the effective date of the merger, the Board of Directors of Cryobanks took over the BioStem board and Cryobanks received net proceeds of $10.0 million.   Due to their restructuring as a publicly held company, Cryobanks is now files financial disclosures on the SEC website "Edgar". 

Cryobanks is actively pursuing technology licensing agreements in overseas markets.  Cryobanks estimates that they can assist the development of four to six foreign facilities each year, for which they will receive a large up-front cash fee plus a percentage of the gross revenues of each facility.

• Cryobanks has opened a facility in Athens, Greece, which is accredited by the AABB
  
• Cryobanks India is a joint venture with R.J. Corporation headed by Ravi Jaipuria.  Cryobanks will invest Rs.1 billion to build seven facilities in metro cities.  An advisor to the project is cardiologist Naresh Trehan.  The first facility will open in 2006 in Gurgaon near New Delhi, as reported in IndianMuslims.Info

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INTERNET: www.cryo-cell.com  
PHONE: 800-STOR-CELL
OFFICE: Oldsmar FL, near Tampa
STORAGE: Oldsmar FL, near Tampa
ACCREDITATION: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT:
Cryo-Cell is one of the original private cord blood banks and has been a publicly traded company since 1991: Nasdaq OTCBB symbol CCEL.  Cryo-Cell has partnerships with biotech companies researching cord blood applications.   

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• First transplant press release and anniversary.
• List of Cryo-Cell transplants
• As of 25 April 2005, Cryo-Cell processes cord blood by Hespan sedimentation, and long term storage is in compartmented bags. All storage is in their Oldsmar lab, which is compliant with FDA cGTP standards.
• In addition to AABB accreditation, the CryoCell is also certified by ISO 9001:2000.
• Since 6Dec2005, Cryo-Cell offers the following service plan terms:
• CRYO-CELL Client for Life(TM) Program - New and returning clients can lock in current prices for any future children: $1295 processing fee and $100 annual storage fee.
• No enrollment fees.  Clients owe nothing until cord blood is received, processed, and stored.
• Personal courier service is included in the processing fee (US and Puerto Rico only).
• Payment plans: Cryo-Cell offers 6- and 12-month interest free payment plans and a 60-month financing plan to qualified clients.
• Reimbursement of $175 for cord blood collection fees.
• Customer support staffed by nurses 24/7.
• CRYO-CELL Cares(TM) Payment - In conjunction with a transplant of CRYO-CELL-banked cells, the Company will pay clients $10,000 to ease the family  financial hardship of undergoing transplant.
• CRYO-CELL Payment Guarantee(TM) - In the event that a client's cord blood, which was processed and stored by the Company, is used for transplant and fails to engraft, CRYO-CELL will pay the client $50,000.
• Through an exclusive agreement with Upromise®, Cryo-Cell will contribute 2% of its clients' cord blood payments towards their Upromise® account for college education.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Publicly traded since 1991, Cryo-Cell business operations have been a matter of public record and were frequently written up in Florida Newspapers.  

• Cryo-Cell was originally affiliated with the University of Arizona and Dr. David Harris, the founder of Cord Blood Registry. In 1998 Cryo-Cell won $1.17 million dollars in a breach of contract lawsuit against those parties.
• Cryo-Cell went on to become the industry leader in providing economical cord blood storage.
  
• In 2002 and 2003, Cryo-Cell underwent several changes of leadership, including the retirement of founder Dan Richard.  Richard's severance package includes a $200,000 annual consulting fee which he will receive from Cryo-Cell for life. 
  
• On 3 Feb 2003, the St. Petersburg Times published an expose titled Meltdown in which Cryo-Cell employees alleged there were repeated malfunctions of a proprietary freezer under development at Cryo-Cell.  The European affiliates of Cryo-Cell refused to use this freezer,  breaching the terms of  their technology transfer contract.
  
• In the calendar year 2004 Cryo-Cell changed several business practices and raised prices substantially.  Cryo-Cell discontinued use of their proprietary freezer, cancelled plans to open a subsidiary for storage of adult stem cells, and reached an amicable settlement with their former European affiliates.  
  
• On 6Dec2004, Cryo-Cell relocated its headquarters and lab from one Tampa suburb (Clearwater) to another (Oldsmar). The new facility is nearly 18,000 square-feet and meets FDA rules for good manufacturing and good tissue practices (cGTPs). Nearly 75,000 client specimens were moved under police escort.
• Prior to 25 April 2005, Cryo-Cell processed cord blood by "Ficoll-Hypaque" density centrifugation, and long term storage was in vials. Vials were split between two locations: company headquarters in Florida and the storage facility Safti-Cell in Sedona, Arizona.  
  
• Cryo-Cell has international affiliates in Mexico, Central and South America, and India. 
  
• As of Feb 2007 Cryo-Cell claims more than 135,000 clients worldwide.
  

Cryo-Cell owns approximately 38% of Saneron CCEL Therapeutics Inc., a biotech company which is conducting research on spinal cord repair using donated cord blood stem cells combined with "Sertoli" cells.  The "Sertoli" cells come from mammalian testes, and have the ability to provide localized immunosuppression, thereby eliminating the need for immune-suppressing drugs (like steroids or chemotherapy) when infusing patients with cord blood cells that have incompatible tissue types.

In Oct 2005, Cryo-Cell formed an exclusive partnership with the biotech firm Plureon Corporation to market the collection of stem
cells from the placenta.   Cryo-Cell and Plureon parted ways in 2007.

Quarterly Reports of Cryo-Cell can be accessed by searching under their name at the SEC web site Edgar. (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml)
 
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INTERNET: www.domanicell.com
PHONE: 201-883-5308
OFFICE: Hackensack, NJ
STORAGE: Progenitor Cell Therapy, Hackensack, NJ
ACCREDITATION: NJ

COMMENT:
DomaniCell LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Progenitor Cell Therapy LLC.  Their business concept is to market "turn-key" cord blood banking to birthing hospitals. 

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• DomaniCell does not market cord blood banking directly to parents.  To enroll, you or your doctor must use their Hospital Locator to find a DomaniCell Partner Hospital and you must deliver at that hospital.
• DomaniCell partner hospitals are "invested" in the program, which means they receive a cut of the profits.
• Cord blood collections are processed at the laboratory of Progenitor Cell Therapy.  The transplant quota are cord blood units released for transplants through public registries. 
  
• The laboratory processing uses sedimentation with hetastarch to separate MonoNuclear Cells from cord blood.  Bags are used for both the blood collection and the final storage of the processed cells.
  
• Progenitor Cell Therapy has FACT accreditation for cellular therapy products, but they do not yet have FACT/Netcord accreditation for cord blood processing.
• Progenitor Cell Therapy laboratory follows cGMP (ie: cellular GMP) standards, which are above FDA requirements for cord blood processing.
• Domanicell contract includes courier transport, usually by AirNet.
• DomaniCell pricing varies from hospital to hospital.
• Payment plans are always available.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Progenitor Cell Therapy LLC was founded in 1997 by Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., and Robert A. Preti, Ph.D.  Dr. Pecora performed the first adult transplant of expanded cord blood.  Dr. Preti has been the Scientific and Laboratory Director of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), located in Hackensack, New Jersey.  Progenitor Cell Therapy acquired HUMC in March 1999 and upgraded it to a cGMP compliant facility which is experienced in all forms of stem cell engineering.  The CEO of DomaniCell is Dennis Fallen.

INTERNET: www.communitybloodservices.org/cb_ekucbp.php
PHONE: 1-866-SAVCORD
OFFICE: Allendale, NJ
STORAGE: Community Blood Services, Allendale, NJ
ACCREDITATION: AABB

COMMENT:
Community Blood Services has served northern New Jersey as a regional blood center since 1953.  Since the mid-90's their cord blood lab has served as the processing sub-contractor for over a dozen private cord blood banks.  Starting in 2008, they are offering family banking contracts directly to consumers.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• The transplant quota is from the public bank at Community Blood Services.
• Community Blood Services handles all private cord blood units the same way, but each bank which stores at their lab has a separate freezer.
• The Community Blood Services processing method (as of 1 Sept 2007) is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge.  The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use.  Because the anti-coagulant is already in the bag, the bag carries BLA licensure from the FDA.
• Within New Jersey, courier transport is provided by blood center drivers.
• Discount of 10% if the processing fee is paid at once, else it can be paid in three installments without interest.
• Other discounts available if the parent's employer is a Premier Partner.
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The cord blood program at Community Blood Services was originally funded by the donor Elie Katz, and hence the program still bears his name.  Initially the Elie Katz program only stored cord blood donations for transplant patients.  Community Blood Services continues to actively bank public units and participates in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) cord blood bank network.  Additionally, New Jersey is the first state to implement a statewide public cord blood bank in Oct 2005, and as of May 2007, all cord blood collections for the state program are processed at Community Blood Services.

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INTERNET: www.familycordbloodservices.com  
PHONE: 888-828-2673
OFFICE: Los Angeles, CA
STORAGE: Los Angeles, CA
ACCREDITATION: AABB, CA, NY

COMMENT: Family Cord Blood Services is a subsidiary of  California Cryobank,  one of the nation's leading sperm banks and a provider of various cryogenic services for 30 years. 

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Family Cord Blood Services was founded in 1997 and operates from its own dedicated laboratory and storage facility.
• The stem cell laboratory has provided several transplants of stem cells harvested from the donor's blood by apheresis, and two cord blood transplants.
• Cord blood collections are manually processed by licensed clinical laboratory technologists.
• The processing method is red cell depletion with the chemical hespan; the two steps are sedimentation and centrifugation.
• The final sample of MonoNuclearCells has a volume of 25ml and is stored in a dual compartment bag with 20ml and 5ml portions.  Three testing segments are attached to the storage bag.
  
• Total first year fees are $1650 for processing plus storage.  No late enrollment fees.
• Family Cord Blood Services is one of only two family banks which provides a temperature-controlled shipping container.
• For domestic collections, the processing fee includes medical courier service with AirNet. 
  
• For international collections, $150 is deducted from the processing fee, but the client is responsible for the cost of courier service with Quick International.
  
• Returning clients get a $400 discount.
• Parents who are pregnant via donor sperm from California Cryobank are eligible for CCB Cord Blood Advantage Program, which offers cord blood banking for an additional fee of only $645 (over $1000 discount!)
• Special discounts for military personnel, students, and multiple births: call to inquire.
  
• Discounts available for pre-paid storage times.
• Payment plans start at $45/month.
  
• Physician fees for cord blood collection are not reimbursed.
  
• Parents can select a Public Donation Option^SM at the time of enrollment (started Aug2005).  In order to be eligible, the maternal blood test and the cord blood must both pass all the medical requirements for public donation, and the parents must agree to privately store the cord blood for 10 years before releasing it.  This program costs an additional $250, which goes towards the $400 cost of HLA typing the cord blood so that it can be listed on a donor registry.  If the unit is released for a transplant, parents are reimbursed for the processing and any storage fees.
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The parent company of Family Cord Blood Services, California Cryobank Sperm Bank, was founded in 1977 by two physicians, Dr. Cappy Rothman and Dr. Charles Sims.  Since then, California Cryobank has grown to serve all 50 US states and more than 30 countries worldwide.  With the advent of technology to process stem cells for freezing, and the development of medical therapies based on cord blood stem cells, in 1997 California Cryobank  opened their Stem Cell Services division and became the first private cord blood bank in California. Their stem cell laboratory has always been completely separate from the sperm bank.  Their medical advisory board includes hematologist Dr. Michael Lill and director of laboratory operations Eddie Jacildo, DLM,MT,CLS.  

In 2005, the cord blood bank changed its name and location.  The old name was California Cryobank Cord Blood Bank.  The lab moved less than a mile from Santa Monica to a larger, state-of-the-art facility in Los Angeles.  The company continues to be privately held and operated by the same staff who have presided over its growth.

alternate web site:  www.mycordblood.com
 
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INTERNET: www.cordbloodstorage.com  
PHONE: (502) 629-1234
OFFICE: Louisville, Kentucky
STORAGE: Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky
ACCREDITATION: AABB

COMMENT: Family Link is a regional bank only: cord blood is only accepted from within a 4 hour driving radius of the laboratory.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Family Link is a program of Norton Healthcare, a not-for-profit organization which operates dozens of hospitals throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
• Family Link Cord Blood Storage Program is located in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Laboratory of Norton® Healthcare, which serves the pediatric transplant program at Kosair Children's Hospital
• Transport services are included in the price.  The regional courier service is Beeline Courier.
• The lab is moving towards separation of mononuclear cells (MNC) but currently stores whole blood.
• Discounts for repeat customers ($350 off processing) or employees of Norton Healthcare (20% off both processing and annual storage).
  

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INTERNET: www.thegenesisbank.com
PHONE: 800-804-6703
OFFICE: General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN
STORAGE: General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN
ACCREDITATION:  NJ, NY, AABB inspections in progress

COMMENT: Genesis Bank is a subsidiary of the biotech company General BioTechnology LLC, a small  Indianapolis company (no website)  which incorporated in 1997 and specializes in cryogenic research and services. 
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• A subsidiary of parent company General BioTechnology, Genesis Bank was founded in July 2004 and began processing cord blood in their laboratory in early 2005.
  
• Because they are a cryogenic research facility, GenesisBank has a unique philosophy of not employing sales staff.  Parents who telephone with inquiries will speak to some one who has a scientific background and can answer their questions.
• Parents or physician can choose collection option: gravity drip into a bag or draw into a syringe.
  
• Laboratory processing is manually performed to reduce volume with Hespan sedimentation.
• Final storage is in a compartmented blood bag
  
• Enrollment fee of $175 is non-refundable. 
  
• Cost does not include transportation of the blood.
  
• Discounts for pre-paid long-term storage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Genesis Bank is a subsidiary of the biotech company General BioTechnology LLC (no website) in Indianapolis. General BioTechnology was founded with an NIH-NHLBI grant to develop optimized protocols for processing and cryopreserving cord blood.  They have also received federal grant funding from the SBIR program. The CEO of General BioTechnology, Erik Woods, Ph.D., is with the Dept of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine and has published research on cord blood preservation.

General BioTechnology LLC also has a division, Genome Resources devoted to sperm banking. 

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INTERNET: www.hemastem.com  
PHONE: 800-203-7349; or Email info@hemastem.com  
OFFICE: Main office located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
STORAGE: Alternate labs for Canada & USA:
                   USA lab is Community Blood Services, Paramus, NJ;
                   Canada lab is  Stem Sciences Inc. in North York, Ontario.
ACCREDITATION:  USA lab: AABB; Canada lab: none

COMMENT: HemaStem, aka HemaLife, are privately owned.
HemaStem is owned by Geneticas Life Sciences, Inc., a company specializing in biological insurance: they have divisions which bank the genes of endangered species, clone domestic animals, have a registry of human gene donors for the creation of designer babies, and bank the stem cells in cord blood. Website is in English and Spanish.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• HemaStem provides their patented StemGuard [TM] collection kit.
  
• The USA cord blood laboratory at Community Blood Services handles all private cord blood units the same way, but each bank which stores at their lab has a separate freezer.
• The transplant quota is from the public bank at Community Blood Services.
• The Community Blood Services processing method (as of 1 Sept 2007) is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge.  The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use.  Because the anti-coagulant is already in the bag, the bag carries BLA licensure from the FDA.
• Enrollment fee only charged once per family. Price includes shipping by courier service.
• First year storage included in processing fees.
  
• Discount for prepaid storage. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

HemaStem Therapeutics was founded in 2004 as a subsidiary of Geneticas Life Sciences, which provided a patented StemGuard [TM] collection kit.   Genetics Life Sciences specialized in biological insurance: they had divisions which bank ed the genes of endangered species, cloned domestic animals, had a registry of human gene donors for the creation of designer babies, and banked the stem cells in cord blood.
 
Geneticas Life Sciences originally entered the cord blood market in 2003 with the autologous bank GeneAngel, which had a unique pricing concept: No processing fee, but a storage fee of $49.95 was charged every month indefinitely. In exchange for the on-going storage fee, GeneAngel offered parents health insurance: $100,000 if their child developed a disease treatable by cord blood transplant. Perhaps not surprisingly, they could not find customers willing to pay $10,789.20 over 18 years against the odds of one child developing a transplantable disease. Hence, they reorganized and in 2004 launched HemaStem/Hemalife.

Genetics Life Sciences also had a subsidiary  Allerca, devoted to the creation of hypoallergenic cats.  In late 2004 a vicious lawsuit erupted between Transgenic Pets LLC versus Allerca and Geneticas.  Apparently the parent company Geneticas has since been disbanded.
 
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INTERNET: www.lifebankusa.com  
PHONE: 877-LIFEBANK
OFFICE: Cedar Knolls, NJ
STORAGE: Cedar Knolls, NJ
ACCREDITATION: AABB, MD, NJ, NY

COMMENT: LifebankUSA and its parent company, Celgene Corporation (Nasdaq: CELG) offer both family and public cord blood banking.  They are currently (March 2008) the only company which offers the option to  bank placental stem cells for family use.  Through their public donation program, Celgene provides cord blood for clinical trials and pharmaceutical products. 
 
CORD BLOOD BANKING SERVICES:

• List of LifebankUSA transplants
  
• Testimonials from LifebankUSA transplants
• Educational film about cord blood banking in general
• Animation of collection procedure
• Live customer support available 24/7; parents or physician can phone during delivery.
  
• LIfebankUSA recommends cord blood collection while the placenta is in utero.
• The LifebankUSA collection kit provides a ChloraPrep® One-Step Frepp® Applicator to clean the umbilical cord prior to collecting the cord blood.
• Cost includes domestic courier transport via Quick International.
• The LifebankUSA laboratory procedure is to manually separate MonoNuclear Cells (MNC) by sedimentation with the chemical hetastarch.
• LifebankUSA has validated their cord blood laboratory procedures as yielding MNC separation comparable to the automated AXP and Sepax systems, but much better than those systems in removal of red blood cells, which are less than 1% of the final product.
• LifebankUSA runs CD34+ counts for all private clients and stores cards with blood blots in case of future HLA typing.
• Final storage is in Pall blood bags with 80%/20% compartments.
  
• Client referral program gives $150 discount to the new client and awards a year of free storage to the existing client.
• Returning clients receive $300 off enrollment.  LifebankUSA also has a Gift Registry.
• Payment plans start at $44/month.  A twelve month interest free payment plan is also available.
• Charity Program: "Families in Need" with a disease treatable by a stem cell transplant may be entitled to free enrollment.

 
PLACENTA BANKING SERVICES:

• Starting April 24, 2006, LifebankUSA became the first cord blood bank in the world to offer private banking of placental blood, for an additional cost.
  
• Celgene research shows that the placenta is ten times richer in stem cells than cord blood, based on counts with the CD34+ stain.  Independent transplant research has shown that a higher dose of CD34+ stem cells ensures a better transplant outcome.
  
• In March 2008 researchers at UCLA announced that all the blood (hematopoietic) stem cells of the newborn originate in the placenta.
  
• The optional banking of placental blood is completely separate from cord blood collection: 
  
• First the cord blood is collected while the placenta is in utero.
• When the placenta is delivered, the entire placenta is shipped to LifebankUSA. 
  
• The process of removing blood from the placenta takes a trained technician about two hours.  First the blood vessels in the placenta are canulated, or opened, and then they are repeatedly profused, or flushed, with saline while the technician kneads the placenta by hand.  All this takes place in a clean room under a hood.
  
• Once the blood has been extracted from the placenta, the stem cells in the placental blood can be separated with the same laboratory procedure as cord blood.
• Because the placenta stem cell storage is separate from the cord blood, any risks of contamination are separate, and they can be used separately.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The private cord blood bank LifebankUSA is operated (Aug 2007) by the same core staff who founded the bank in 1998, despite their acquisition by the public company Celgene in 2002.  These core staff also formed a biotech company named Anthrogenesis, which founded another stem cell laboratory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Anthrogenesis operated a program called  "The Louisiana Stem Cell Repository" (www.la-stemcell.com; website no longer active), which collected placentas donated by parents at local charity hospitals (see archived reports from 11/13/02 and 11/15/02 in The Advocate).

On 13 Nov 2002, Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG) acquired both Anthrogenesis and LifebankUSA for $45 million.  The current (2007) disclosed market value of Celgene is more than $20 billion, and almost 40% of their revenues are invested in research and development.  The family cord blood banking program still operates under the name LifebankUSA, at their NJ laboratory which is accredited by both AABB and  ISO 9001:2000.  The LA laboratory is dedicated to research sponsored by  Celgene Cellular Therapeutics.  Since 2005, Celgene has provided donated stem cells for research on therapies for cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS, spinal cord injury, and other diseases. Their research partners include:

• The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
• The Mayo Clinic
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Texas Heart® Institute

Celgene also uses the membrane of donated placentas to develop proprietary medical products.  One such product is "Biovance", a collagen-based wound covering. Biovance is primarily composed of amniotic membrane that has undergone minimum processing.  Another Celgene product is "Ambiodry", a dehydrated, decellularized, substrate-free human amniotic membrane allograft. Each allograft has been sterilized and a packaged in a double peel-pouch packaging configuration.

LifebankUSA is one of only two banks in the country which accept mail-in cord blood donations from across the country.  However, their ability to accept these donations fluctuates depending on the cycles of research trials.
 
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INTERNET: www.lifelinecryogenics.com
PHONE: 1-866-967-CRYO
OFFICE: Stamford, CT
STORAGE: Stamford, CT
ACCREDITATION: AABB

COMMENT: LifeLine is a broad spectrum cryogenics company offering storage of sperm, eggs, ovarian tissue, embryos, and cord blood. The cord blood program serves the MA, CT, and NJ area.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• LifeLine uses dedicated medical couriers; their goal is to deliver the blood to the laboratory within 24-36 hours from birth. Transport costs are quoted on an individual customer basis.
• First year storage included in processing fees. Discount options if blocks of storage are prepaid.

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INTERNET: www.LifeSourceCryobank.com
PHONE: 866-400-7333 or 985-867-8902
OFFICE: Covington, LA
STORAGE: Covington, LA
ACCREDITATION: no


COMMENT:
LifeSource Cryobank is a fairly new cord blood bank which has its own laboratory.  The founders of LifeSource Cryobank are actively involved in regenerative medicine research.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• LifeSource Cryobank laboratory was completed in Feb 2007 and meets FDA GMP standards.  These standards are higher than the requirement for simply preserving cord blood; these standards are required when processed stem cells are delivered as part of a therapy, which is the case in regenerative medicine.
• LifeSource Cryobank offers courier transport to these neighboring communities: Greater New Orleans area, Metairie, Baton Rouge, Covington, Mandeville, Hammond and Slidell, La.
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The founder of LifeSource Cryobank is cardiologist Gabriel Lasala, M.D., who is also the president of TCA Clinic, a group of cardiologists in Covington, Louisiana.  The Scientific Director of LifeSource Cryobank is Dr. Jose J Minguell, formerly Director of the Dept of Cellular Therapy at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, and leader of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program Laboratory at Clinica Las Condes in Santiago, Chile.  Dr. Minguell has published a number of articles in the medical literature about the presence of mesenchymal stem cells in bone marrow and their potential for cardiomyoplasty.

LifeSource is directly linked to TCA Cellular Therapy, a research and development company interested in regenerative medicine therapies in which stem cells promote cardiovascular repair.  They are presently participating in Phase I clinical trials in which an adult heart attack patient receives stem cells from his or her own bone marrow during bypass surgery or angioplasty.  In addition to offering cord blood storage, LifeSource Cryobank offers adults the opportunity to bank their stem cells.  For banking, the adult stem cells are filtered from the patient's peripheral blood in a process known as apheresis.

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INTERNET: www.MAZEcordblood.com
PHONE: 914-683-0000
OFFICE: Westchester, NY
STORAGE: Storage facility in Purchase, NY.
Processing lab at the White Plains office of the NY Blood Center, called "Hudson Valley Blood Services".
ACCREDITATION: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT: MAZE was originally a fertility center named after the initials of the founding doctor's four sons (Mathew, Adam, Zachary and Evan). Cord blood storage is a subsidiary company. 
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• MAZE processes cord blood at the White Plains lab of the NY Blood Center, which is known as "Hudson Valley Blood Services".  This is not the same NY Blood Center lab which operates the National Cord Blood Program, collecting donations for transplants.
  
• The processed blood is frozen, placed in cryogenic containers, and moved to MAZE Labs in Purchase, NY for long-term storage. The processing lab and storage location are only a few miles apart in Westchester County.
• Cost is a one time, all-inclusive, fee of $1890, which includes the collection kit, private courier, pick up service from the hospital, processing and storage for the first 18 years.
• Courier service with secure chain of custody is now available, using AirNet, from any location.

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INTERNET: www.neocells.com
PHONE: 888-50-CELLS
OFFICE:  Palm Harbor, FL
STORAGE: Reproductive Genetics Institute, Chicago, IL
and Community Blood Services, Allendale, NJ
ACCREDITATION: RGI: none; CBS: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT: NeoCells is currently the "most affordable" family cord blood bank.   

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Neocells and AdultCells are both marketing companies which are subsidiaries of Vivicells (office in Chicago).  Neocells banks umbilical cord blood and AdultCells banks stem cells from adults.  Both types of cells are considered by scientists to be "adult" stem cells. 
  
• Neocells and AdultCells share a laboratory at the Reproductive Genetics Institute (RGI).  While RGI is world-reknowned for their work with embryonic stem cells, the cord blood laboratory is completely separate from the embryonic stem cell laboratory.
  
• At present, the NeoCells processing method is to separate MonoNuclear Cells completely by centrifuge, with final cord blood storage in vials.  NeoCells is switching to bag storage in order to obtain accreditation by the AABB.
• NeoCells also sub-contracts some of their cord blood processing to Community Blood Services in NJ, which  has a fully accredited cord blood laboratory.
  
• First year cost (as of June 2006) is only $845 (this includes first year of storage).
  
• Parents are responsible to arrange and pay for return shipping of the collection.
  
• Payment plans are available, discounts for pre-paid storage available.
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The two companies,  NeoCells LLC, which banks cord blood storage, and AdultCells LLC, which banks adult stem cells, are both subsidiaries of ViviCells International, LLC, which is "the nation's first comprehensive family stem cell bank".  The laboratory partner of Vivicells is the  Reproductive Genetics Institute (RGI), founded by Yury Verlinski, Ph.D.   RGI does research on embryonic stem cells and claims to have isolated cell lines with specific disease markers.  RGI has clinics around the world, in Chicago and Oakbrook, IL, USA,  London, UK, Larnaca, Cyprus, St. Petersburg, Russia, Kieve, Ukraine, Tokyo, Japan, and Belize.

The cord blood laboratory of Neocells is completely separate from the stem cell laboratory of Reproductive Genetics Institute, even though its directors are also affiliated with RGI.  The Scientific Directors of the Neocells cord blood laboratory are Anver Kuliev, M.D., PhD and Gennady Tsukerman, M.D., PhD.  Both doctors are experts on genetic disorders and Dr. Kuliev also currently operates the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Prevention of Genetic Disorders.

Feeder website: www.CordBloodInformation.com

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INTERNET: www.newbornblood.com  
PHONE: 888-948-CORD
OFFICE: Tampa, FL
STORAGE: Tampa, FL
ACCREDITATION: none

COMMENT: Emphasis on storage of whole blood, with no red cell or plasma depletion. 
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Newborn was founded by parents working out of their home in the Tampa Bay area.  It is now operated in a building adjacent to the home and employs a laboratory manager.
• Profiled 26 April 2004 in the St. Petersburg Times
• Discount $100 for early enrollment.
• First year cost of only $1095.
• Final storage in blood bags in liquid nitrogen dewar.
• Discount for pre-paid storage.
  

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INTERNET: www.cordbloodbank.com  
PHONE: 888-700-CORD
OFFICE: Boston, MA
STORAGE: New England Cryogenic Center, Boston, MA
ACCREDITATION: AABB, NY

COMMENT: New England Cord Blood Bank is one of the original private cord blood banks. New England Cryogenic Center, the largest cryogenic facility in North America, is the parent company of New England Cord Blood Bank.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• The NECBB processing method separates cells with two cycles of centrifuge spinning; this technique is known in the medical literature as "Ficoll-Hypaque" density centrifugation.
• In the past, NECBB stored in multiple cryovials, plus smaller vials for pre-transplant testing.  Starting 1 Dec 2006, NECBB stores in multi-compartment bags.
  
• Cost includes Fedex transport; courier shipping costs $150 extra.
• Customer support available 24/7. No late/rush enrollment fees. 
  
• Payment plan of one year at no interest available to all families.  Extended payment plans available through CapitalOne Healthcare Financing Group.
  
• NECBB will reimburse up to $125 of the physician's collection fee directly to the provider.
  
• Previous NECBB customers save $426 on subsequent births.
• Discounts for multiple births, families that are active duty military, and grandparents with AARP membership.
  
• Prepay storage for 20 years and save $580.

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INTERNET: www.rmilabs.com
PHONE: 877-844-7379
OFFICE: SIRM offices in Las Vegas, Nevada
STORAGE: Community Blood Services laboratory in Allendale, NJ
ACCREDITATION: AABB

COMMENT:
RMI offers cord blood banking primarily to clients of the Sher Institutes of Reproductive Medicine (SIRM), and to the general public on an individual basis.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• SIRM is a network of fertility clinics which currently (Jan 2008) includes physicians based in the states CA, PA, IL, MO, NJ, NV, NY, and TX.
• The cord blood laboratory at Community Blood Services handles all private cord blood units the same way, but each bank which stores at their lab has a separate freezer.
• The transplant quota is from the public bank at Community Blood Services.
• The Community Blood Services processing method (as of 1 Sept 2007) is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge.  The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use.  Because the anti-coagulant is already in the bag, the bag carries BLA licensure from the FDA.
• RMI does not list a standard price for their services.
  
• RMI says there is no enrollment fee, the first year of storage is included in all payment plans, and clients are offered 3 payment structures.
  

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INTERNET: www.safetycord.com
PHONE: +1 305 432 2673
OFFICE: Puerto Rico
STORAGE: Community Blood Services, Allendale, NJ
ACCREDITATION: AABB

COMMENT:
Website in Spanish only.  Safetycord operates primarily in Puerto Rico, which is a United States protectorate, hence they are listed as a USA bank.  They also ship some cord blood from Spain.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• The cord blood laboratory at Community Blood Services handles all private cord blood units the same way, but each bank which stores at their lab has a separate freezer.
• The transplant quota is from the public bank at Community Blood Services.
• The Community Blood Services processing method (as of 1 Sept 2007) is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge.  The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use.  Because the anti-coagulant is already in the bag, the bag carries BLA licensure from the FDA.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:


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INTERNET: www.securacell.com
PHONE: 866-836-CELL
OFFICE: Canton, OH
STORAGE: BioStorage Technologies, Indianapolis, Indiana
ACCREDITATION: no

COMMENT: Securacell is an independent company, not an affiliate of another bank.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• As of summer 2004, Securacell has a partnership with BioStorage Technologies, Indianapolis, IN, for cord blood storage.
• They also store cord blood at General BioTechnology (The Genesis Bank), Indianapolis, IN
• Staff includes three nurses to counsel patients and medical professionals.
• Overnight shipping is included in price.
• Enrollment fee only charged once per family.  No late enrollment fees.
• First year storage included in processing fees.
  
• Six different payment plans.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Prior to summer 2004, Securacell used the laboratory of New England Cryogenic Center, Boston, MA, for cord blood processing and storage.

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INTERNET: www.stembanc.com
PHONE: 87-STEMBANC
OFFICE: Cleveland, OH
STORAGE: FDA registration lists Cleveland, OH
ACCREDITATION:  none

COMMENT: Stembanc refuses to answer any questions about their laboratory.  Stembanc is 15% owned by PharmaStem, and under certain circumstances this ownership interest can increase. (Reference: public record of testimony in Delaware District Court 3Nov2004).
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Stembanc refuses to reveal any details concerning their laboratory.  Even their sales force has not seen it.  It has not been inspected by any accrediting agency. 
  
• Stembanc marketing is based predominantly on their possession of a PharmaStem patent license.  These patents are no longer valid.
• As of April 2004, Stembanc offers Clinical Sales Managers (CSM) a Staff Referral Program, in which the senior CSM will receive a $100 bonus for each expectant parent enrollment credited to a newer sales manager that was recruited by the senior CSM.
• Participating physicians directly receive $200 per unit of cord blood collected and are covered by $3 million liability insurance.
  
• Courier transport with AirNet is available for a flat fee of $150 extra.
• First year storage included in processing fees. Prepay storage for 20 years at a 50% discount.
  

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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 8 banks funded by the US government 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 one of only two family banks 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.  In 2007, Stemcyte was ranked the number one biotechnology company in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for Los Angeles, a ranking compiled by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP.  Rankings are based on the percentage revenue growth over five years from 2002-2006, a period during which Stemcycte's revenues increased 1888%.

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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INTERNET: www.stork.md
PHONE: 866-65-STORK
OFFICE: Columbus, GA
STORAGE: Community Blood Services laboratory in Allendale, NJ
ACCREDITATION: AABB

COMMENT:
Stork medical emphasizes that they have no hidden charges and excellent customer service.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• The founder of Stork Medical is Jonathan Liss, M.D.
• When parents contract with Stork Medical, they are assigned a client support specialist  who keeps in touch with them throughout the process.
• The cord blood laboratory at Community Blood Services handles all private cord blood units the same way, but each bank which stores at their lab has a separate freezer.
• The transplant quota is from the public bank at Community Blood Services.
• The Community Blood Services processing method (as of 1 Sept 2007) is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge.  The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use.  Because the anti-coagulant is already in the bag, the bag carries BLA licensure from the FDA.
• Processing fee includes overnight courier service with protection against temperature fluctuations.
  
• Processing fee includes the first year of storage.
• Annual storage fee fixed at $108 for fifteen years.
  
• Payment plans available, discounts for prepaid storage.
  
• Gift Registry available.
• Should your baby's cord blood ever be needed, retrieval is free.
  

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INTERNET:  www.utahcordbank.com
PHONE: 877-UCB-STEM  (1-877-822-7836)
OFFICE: Sandy, Utah
STORAGE: Sandy, Utah
ACCREDITATION: no

COMMENT:
The Utah Cord Bank is focused on serving local clients, stressing that their laboratory is in Utah and that courier service is provided to insure rapid delivery and processing of the cord blood.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• Collection procedure is gravity drip into a blood bag.
• Collection fee includes courier service within the state of Utah.
• Cord blood is manually processed by technicians.
• Utah Cord Bank laboratory procedures emphasize the complete separation of MNC, even separating neutrophils (small white cells) and platelets (small cells used in clotting).
• Utah Cord Bank stores MonoNuclear Cells (MNC) in multiple vials in liquid nitrogen.  The vials from a single donor are held together by a sealed sheath.
• Discount coupons available at most Utah hospitals for participants in prenatal or childbirth classes.
• Storage fee of $85 is guaranteed for 10 years (as of March 2008).
• Utah Cord Bank advertises (March 2008) that they will match or beat competitor prices within Utah.
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Utah Cord Bank started cord blood operations in 2007 and have not yet been inspected for accreditation.  It will be interesting to see if this bank receives accreditation by AABB.  The AABB requirements state that all the blood from a donor be "integrally attached", and most cord blood banks accomplished this by storing in bags, whereas Utah Cord Bank uses vials attached in a sheath.


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INTERNET: www.viacord.com  
PHONE: 866-668-4895
OFFICE: Cambridge, MA
STORAGE: Hebron, KY, outside Cincinnati, OH.
ACCREDITATION: AABB, NJ, NY

COMMENT: Viacord is one of the original private cord blood banks; they have become a subsidiary of Viacell Inc., a biotech company whose stem cell research has entered human trials. On Friday 21Jan2005, Viacell went public on Nasdaq:VIAC.
 
SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• List of Viacord transplants
  
• Live customer support available 24/7; parents or physician can phone during delivery.
• Courier transport with Quick International is available for a flat fee of $150 extra.
• The Viacord collection kit provides a ChloraPrep® One-Step Frepp® Applicator to clean the umbilical cord prior to collecting the cord blood.
• In April 2006, Viacord introduced an FDA-approved sterile collection bag Cell Sentinel(TM) which is suitable for surgical deliveries. This was developed in collaboration with medical equipment manufacturer Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL).
  
• The Viacord processing method is the Sepax system from the Swiss company Biosafe.
  
• Sepax is an automated cell separation system which relies on a laser beam to sense the density gradient between different cell layers after the blood has been spun in a centrifuge.  The bag kit is sterile, functionally closed, and single-use. 
  
• The Sepax processing system has BLA licensure from the