Family Bank: Cordlife Philippines

About

Cordlife Philippines, a subsidiary of Cordlife Group Limited, has acquired the prestigious status of being the country’s first and only DOH-registered, ISO 9001:2015-certified, and AABB-accredited private cord blood bank with a local stem cell processing and cryopreservation facility. 

AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies) is a global leader in standards development, accreditation, and implementation of quality systems in transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. Earning an AABB accreditation means that cord blood released from our facility adheres to the highest global standards as well as the medical institution’s stringent requirements for cellular therapy. Major therapy centers both here and abroad will require cord blood units from accredited facilities.

Through our partner, the Center for Regenerative Medicine of Makati Medical Center, Cordlife now also offers storage for expanded MSCs. With this service, families are banking additional 50 million treatment-ready MSCs which may be beneficial to other biological family members, including the grandparents.

Beyond umbilical cord blood, cord tissue, cord lining, and MSC banking, Cordlife Philippines provides a comprehensive suite of diagnostics services for the mother and child including non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), and baby genetic screening services.

Labs and Locations

Laboratory location: Unit 104, Building H, UP AyalaLand TechnoHub, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Business Experience

Cordlife Group inhabits a distinctive niche in the healthcare industry. The Group is one of the foremost private cord blood banks to have gained a solid foothold in Asia. In the last 20 years, Cordlife has dedicated its undertakings to achieve market leadership in the industry. Having built a distinguished brand name, the Group continues to strive for excellence by means of support from its experienced management team, dynamic key executives along with its quality product and service offerings. Cordlife believes the Group has in place a strong foundation for future expansion.

The Cordlife Group is composed of:

• ​Cordlife Group Limited – Singapore
• Cordlife (Hong Kong) Limited - Hong Kong & Macau
• Health Baby Biotech (Hong Kong) Co., Limited – Hong Kong & Macau
• Cordlife Sciences India Pvt Limited - India & Bangladesh
• PT Cordlife Persada - Indonesia
• Cordlife Medical Philippines, Inc. – the Philippines
• StemLife Berhad – Malaysia & Brunei
• THAI StemLife - Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia
• CL Biotech Company Limited - Vietnam

Collection Kit

The kit contains a closed system blood bag (brand JMS) that is pre-loaded with the anti-coagulant CPDA-1. The kit also provides the disinfectant Povidone-Iodine swab.

Transportation container

The collection kit has foam padding that serves as protection for the consumables and is placed in an insulated thermal bag which is responsible for maintaining ambient temperature during transportation back to the laboratory.

Shipping Info

Once we are informed of cord blood, cord tissue, and cord lining collection, our courier service team will pick up the kit for shipping at room temperature to the laboratory for processing and cryopreservation.

Processing Method

For cord tissue processing, Cordlife uses CellOptima^TM, a Cordlife-exclusive patented technology from Singapore  that enables the isolation of two types of stem cells from umbilical cord lining namely, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and cord lining epithelial stem cells (CLEpSCs).

Components Stored

The final component stored is the buffy coat layer of the blood which holds both white cells and stem cells. Parents are provided with cover letter and certificate once cryopreservation has been successful.

Storage Method

The cord blood storage is in a 25 ml blood cryobag encased in a cassette. Blood samples are kept in a long-term freezer. Stem cells are stored in the vapour phase of cryogenic nitrogen inside the tank.

Licensing & Accreditation

• DOH registration
• AABB accreditation
• ISO 9001:2015 certification

Clinical Experience

The Group has made 77 cord blood releases to 21 healthcare institutions in ten different countries, allowing its clients to use their cord blood for transplantation or cellular therapy. Cordlife has also assisted its clients in the release of 21 cord lining, cord tissue, and cord tissue mesenchymal stem cell releases for medical use. All of the samples processed and stored by Cordlife were used successfully in cellular therapy, which is the ultimate validation of the Group’s processing and storage capabilities.

Insurance

Clients are covered by the Cordlife Care360 Safeguard Program – a program which guarantees that Cordlife delivers holistic protection for your family.

• Cordlife Pledge - Assures clients a cord blood unit of suitable match or SGD$50,000 to defray medical costs if the cord blood loses its viability at point of transplant.
• Cordlife Assure - Covers the cost for additional tests required in the event of a transplant - matching (HLA resolution test) and viability assay.
• Cordlife Guard – Takes additional insurance coverage, to safeguard client and their family from financial loss resulting from direct malpractice.
• Cordlife Secure - Provides an alternative facility at no additional cost to clients should the local facility be inaccessible.

Aside from Cordlife Transplant Care360 Safeguard Program, Cordlife Philippines offers value-added benefits that cover giving birth until stem cell transplant.

1. Cordlife ALLIANCE - Cordlife's community banking program with membership that comes free with umbilical cord blood banking with Cordlife. Members enjoy benefits such as unlimited sample search, access to a genetically diverse member pool, and entitlement to reimbursement in case the family wants to help another family in need with their stored cord blood.
2. Cordlife Shield – Provides coverage for 7 types of possible pregnancy complications, 16 types of congenital illnesses of the baby, and maternal or child death.
3. CordBlood Network – Assists in searching for matched cord blood for legal parents and grandparents of the Cordlife child.
4. Transplant Care – Provides one-time subsidy to partially cover medical costs of stem cell transplantation for the child, child’s biological siblings, or biological parents.

Prices

Cord blood banking plan starts from PHP10,000/month for 36 months, covering an 18-year contract.

Additional Services

Cordlife Philippines offers:

1. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) banking – Baby’s stem cells from the umbilical cord blood (Hematopoietic Stem Cells or HSCs) are collected and stored for potential treatment of 80+ critical illnesses such as leukemia and other blood disorders.
2. Umbilical cord tissue (UCT) banking – Collection, processing, testing, cryopreservation and storage Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) from the cord tissue (Wharton’s jelly).
3. Umbilical cord lining (UCL) banking – With the use of Cordlife-exclusive patented technology, CellOptima™, two types of stem cells from UCL are harvested and stored: mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and cord lining epithelial stem cells (CLEpSCs). These cells are in clinical trials as a curative option to treat stroke, cardiovascular diseases, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, soft tissue repair, eye disorders, and other conditions.
4. Mesenchymal Ste/Stromal Cell (MSC) banking – In partnership with the Center for Regenerative Medicine of Makati Medical Center (MMC-CRM), parents now have the option to store 50 million treatment-ready MSC in our Cordlife storage facility. These can be beneficial for family members including grandparents.
5. Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) – A maternal blood test that screens for the most common chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy. For more information, please visit https://biotech.cordlife.ph/nipt.
6. Baby Genetic Screening via buccal swab - This cheek swab is available for children up to 6 years old which analyzes the risks related to the baby’s chromosomal abnormalities that may lead to Childhood Developmental And Behavioral Disorders (CDABD).
7. Baby Genetic Screening via cord blood – A portion of a baby’s umbilical cord blood will be screened for up to 241 chromosomal abnormalities and up to six disease-causing variants such as atopic dermatitis, ADHD, asthma, allergic rhinitis, Wilson disease, and hearing loss. For more information, please visit https://biotech.cordlife.ph/en/why-cordlife-baby-genetic-screening.