News

Oct 2018   "After going through all that we have lived, a new world opens up for me. Today to conserve the Stem Cells is something that I would recommend with my eyes closed. What seemed like a science fiction movie is what will allow me to see Matías grow".

Oct 2018   In stirred tank bioreactors, “microcarriers” provide the surface where the adherent cells will attach and grow. Microcarriers are small beads with diameters between 100 and 250 µm. Microcarriers can be porous or non-porous, positively charged or non-charged, may or may not be xeno-free, and some microcarriers are biodegradable. The choice of microcarrier is key to the success of MSC growth in stirred tank bioreactors, because the attachment phase between MSC and microcarriers is critical for the success of the expansion process.

Sep 2018   Shaun Ford was diagnosed with SCD at birth through newborn screening. Shaun’s parents are expecting and plan to store the baby's cord blood stem cells. Shaun’s sibling has the chance to be the youngest hero for his big brother by providing matching stem cells for a cord blood transplant.

Sep 2018   Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg came to Porto Alegre (state of Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil) for the first time. She was invited to give a talk at the XXI Gaucho Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics. In three decades, more than 40,000 cord blood transplants have been performed worldwide, and more than 4 million units have been stored in umbilical cord blood banks. To date, more than 200 cord blood units from Brazilian public and private banks have been used in transplants.

Sep 2018   Group B Strep International (GBSI) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to promote international awareness and prevention of Group B Strep (GBS) disease in babies during pregnancy through early infancy. Currently, GBSI is set to host the 1st Annual Virtual Symposium on Prenatal-Onset Group B Strep Disease on October 15-25, 2018.

Sep 2018   The bioengineering approach to MSC expansion to is to culture the cells in bioreactors that hold carriers for growth of adherent cells. We are preparing a series of articles to examine the key parameters to be considered when developing an MSC manufacturing process based on microcarriers and bioreactors, and their potential impact on the final cell therapy product.

Aug 2018   New England Cord Blood Bank (NECBB) has built the largest network of partnerships across Latin America for parents who want United States storage of stem cells from cord blood, cord tissue, or dental pulp. NECBB has over two decades of experience offering families a combination of fertility services and stem cell storage.

Aug 2018   Nikoloz experienced dramatic improvements in his autism symptoms after intrathecal injections of his own cord blood stem cells. Nikoloz is an 8 year old boy who lives in Georgia. His parents stored his cord blood on the advice of their obstetrician. At the age of three years Nicoloz was diagnosed with childhood autism.  He could not speak even single words, he had frequent tantrums, and showed no interest in other children. After injections of his own cord blood stem cells, Nicoloz can now communicate in short sentences. He attends a regular school, where he is able to read, write, paint, and solve arithmetical problems. The treatment of Nicoloz is part of an ongoing study at the family cord blood bank Geocord.

Aug 2018   Cell therapy with both cord blood and MSC has demonstrated improvements for cerebral palsy patients in clinical trials against controls. It is no longer a question of whether cell therapy works, it is a question of which cell therapy works best. In this article we compare two studies with MSC and note that the trial using intrathecal delivery produced a three times bigger improvement in gross motor function scores than intravenous delivery, despite requiring on average of six times fewer cells.

Jul 2018   Midwives in the UK can make a difference by learning how umbilical cord blood can save lives and by becoming active in cord blood collection programs. The United Kingdom lags behind other countries in umbilical cord blood banking. Continung medical education can help to close this gap by teaching healthcare providers more about cord blood therapies and the benefits of participating in cord blood collection programs.