VidaCel

About

VidaCel Banco Público, since 2006 is the first and only one public umbilical cord blood bank in Chile. VidaCel Banco Público is the result of a project for a newborn umbilical cord blood donor program, led by Juan Carlos Vera and co-financed by Corfo.

In June 2013 VidaCel Banco Publico began listing their cord blood inventory on the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) registry as well.

VidaCel Banco Público accepts cord blood donations from families who wish to give altruistically to help unrelated patients. VidaCel Banco Público only accepts donations from medical centers where they have trained the staff.  The collection may be performed by dedicated personnel or by OB/Gyn's and midwives. Families are enrolled into the related program through a form that must be completed and signed previously in each Hospital or Clinic.

After the birth of the baby, the cord blood collection is transported to the bank for processing and cryopreservation at the Laboratory. As part of the program, studies of transfusion-transmitted diseases, immunologic, and microbiologic are performed as well. Moreover, VidaCel also does the typing of HLA histocompatibility antigens for the cord blood unit.

The current VidaCel Banco Público collection sites are:

• Hospital Clínico Universidad Católica de Chile – Santiago de Chile
• Clínica Santa María - Santiago de Chile
• Clínica Dávila - Santiago de Chile