Family Bank: CordCell

About

CordCell offers cord blood and cord tissue banking throughout Brazil. Since September 2020, CordCell has been owned by CryoHoldCo.

Labs and Locations

CordCell laboratory is consolidated inside CryoHoldCo laboratory at: Rua Alvarenga 2226, Butantã, São Paulo, 05509-006, Brazil 

Business Experience

CordCell was founded in 2001 by a group of hematologists, initially as an arm of the blood transfusion center Hemocentro São Lucas, and later transformed into the São Lucas Cell Therapy Group. With the growth of the cord blood banking market, the collection, processing and storage of cord blood was transferred to a separate laboratory in São Paulo.

As the market leader in Brazil in numbers of cord blood collections, in September 2020 CordCell was acquired by CryoHoldco, a private equity investment of ACON Investments. It was the first cord blood bank acquired by CryoHoldco in the process of consolidating the Brazilian cord blood banking market. CryoHoldco has consolidated its laboratory operations in São Paulo for all their companies in Brazil, including CordCell. 

Collection Kit

Supplies 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

CordCell 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, CordCell 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.

Licensing & Accreditation

• Licensed by National Ministry of Health via ANVISA (Brazilian FDA)
• CordCell samples are processed and stored in an AABB certified laboratory

Clinical Experience

The last collection that resulted in therapeutic use took place in Salvador, BA, Brazil in 2022. In this case, cord blood was used by the sister in a bone marrow transplant to treat Sickle Cell Anemia.

Community Service

The program “Coleta pela Vida” (Collect for life) from CordCell provides free banking to families where an immediate relative has a diagnosis for which transplantation is standard therapy. 

Prices

The current (August 2022) CordCell standard prices

• Cord Blood collection and processing fee: R$ 2,950 (US$ 570) + annual storage fee: R$ 650 (US$ 125)
• Cord Blood & Cord Tissue collection and processing fee: R$ 2,850 (US$ 550) + annual storage fee: R$ 1,050 (US$ 200)
• 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.