News

Jul 2016   PacifiCord provides concierge services to their family banking clients in the United States, but is also part of the HealthBanks Biotech Group of public and private cord blood banks operating in five countries.

Jun 2016   His doctors said that Tomas would not be able to walk or talk, but he has overcome tetra spastic cerebral palsy and acts like a normal boy his age.

Jun 2016   The Icla da Silva Foundation is the largest recruitment center for the Be The Match® Registry in the United States. It recruits over 38,000 new potential bone marrow donors every year, with a strong focus on minority communities. The Icla da Silva Foundation also distributes cord blood educational brochures from the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation that are available in over a dozen languages.

Jun 2016   A rare subset of the human population possess a natural mutation which prevents the HIV virus from entering their cells. Dr. Walker proposes to use gene editing to create a bank of cord blood stem cells that carry the mutation for HIV protection and can provide life-saving transplants for AIDS patients.

May 2016   Editorial from Kyle Cetrulo of the Perinatal Stem Cell Society: I strongly urge the cord blood banking community to rally behind a proposed bill currently in the US congress call the “Reliable and Effective Growth for Regenerative Health Options that Improve Wellness”, or the REGROW Act. There needs to be a regulatory paradigm shift that allows patients access to autologous cellular therapies. As we stand today, it will be very difficult for a private cord blood banking clients to access treatment to use their own child’s banked cord blood to treat their child’s cerebral palsy in the United States - outside of future clinical trials - unless the regulatory structure changes.

May 2016   Interview with Prof. Joanne Kurtzberg that originally appeared in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot Saturday Supplement 6 April 2016. Reported by Smadar Shir and translated by Tali Pelz.

Apr 2016   To date, most stem cell therapies for autoimmune diseases have been autologous stem cell transplants (AHSCT). Exciting results have been reported from clinical trials for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In most trials, roughly half of patients who receive AHSCT for MS see the disease progression stop. Transplant response is better for patients who have a shorter history of illness, with some reporting dramatic improvements. Today, the majority of patients in cell trials for autoimmune diseases receive infusions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Therapy with MSC enables MS patients to have improved disability scores without undergoing chemotherapy.

Apr 2016   We are collaborating on a project to compile all cell therapy clinical trials registered worldwide from 2011 through 2015. In this article we have prepared two figures to illustrate the importance of cell therapy clinical trials for autoimmune diseases and the variety of cell types currently in clinical trials for these diagnoses.

Apr 2016   Hepsi Zsoldos received the world's first cord blood transplant for the auto-immune disease Rheumatoid Arthritis. Her sister Carolyn tells Hepsi's story and appeals to expectant mothers to donate their cord blood, because "The ripples you make with even one donation can affect people in ways you could never imagine."

Mar 2016   Australians have launched their first clinical trial of cord blood therapy for cerebral palsy, which is the most common disability of childhood in Australia. Now therapy is available with cord blood stem cells from a sibling that is a perfect match.