Family Bank: Future Health GCC

About

Future Health GCC (FHGCC) is part of the Future Health Group. FHCGG provides cord blood and tissue banking to families who reside within the UAE. Future Health is a trusted brand within the UAE, having had a presence there for over a decade.

In 2023, Future Health GCC opened a high-tech fully GMP grade cleanroom facility in Dubai’s prestigious Healthcare City. Future Health Group has brought over two decades of international biobanking expertise to their purpose-built laboratory and storage facilities in UAE. With the precisely controlled environmental and operational conditions of the laboratory, FHGCC minimizes contamination risks. Their technological infrastructure adheres to stringent quality standards. Future Health Group also offers cutting-edge therapies in world-class facilities with skilled medical professionals. The launch of FHGCC establishes the foundation for collaborations to develop stem cell therapies and safe treatment use.

Labs and Locations

Future Health GCC owns its laboratory. The laboratory operates continuously, processing stem cell collections 7 days a week, throughout the entire year (365 days). Future Health GCC has an established presence in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, and Morocco, offering Gulf Region residents a variety of incredible services for each family’s future health.

The FHGCC’s cleanrooms and cryogenic storage facility is the only laboratory in the region with cGMP B & C graded cleanrooms with the presence of more than 20 specially designed HEPA (highly efficient particulate air) filters. This cutting-edge technology creates a controlled environment for the sample’s utmost safety during the integrated workflow of processing, isolating, and testing of the stem cells, which will be overseen by Future Health GCC’s team of scientists and specialists.

Future Health GCC has also chosen to enhance its current equipment by adding the latest flowcytometry device for quality control testing of each tissue type, new LN2-free controlled rate freezers for controlled cryopreservation of the samples, and a fully cloud-based monitoring system. For guaranteed peace of mind and safety for all the samples, the facility has an Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) which will act as an automated system to provide power in the case of any interruptions or power failure.

Business Experience

Future Health Group, based in the UK, has provided families with stem cell banking since 2002. The Group owns and operates two laboratories in Nottingham, UK, and Dubai, UAE, as well as storage facilities in Nottingham, UK, Chatel, Switzerland, and Dubai UAE.

Collection Kit

FHGCC provides customers with a purpose-built collection kit containing all of the necessary components required to collect the samples of cord blood and cord tissue. Included within the kit is a specially designed cord blood collection bag packed in individual aluminum sterile packaging. Also provided, is a bespoke cord tissue collection kit, containing an antimicrobial tablet and a transportation preservation solution, to ensure the sample returns to the laboratory in the optimum state. A placenta biohazard bag is included for placental tissue collection, with saline solution to keep the sample moistened so it stays fresh and healthy. The kit will have a unique kit code number and expiry date.

Our FHGCC kit simplifies the collection process by offering a comprehensive 4-in-1 solution, containing all required materials for collection of cord blood and birth tissues within one package:

• Button-activated NanoCool™ coolant engine
• Insulated base
• BIO-POUCH® transport bag containing an absorbent towel and electronic
• temperature data logger.
• Maternal blood vials (2 x 10 purple top EDTA Vacutainers ®)
• BD Vacutainer® needle
• BD Vacutainer® single use adaptor
• Cord Blood Collection Bag
• Security seals
• Identity labels for completion by the clients
• Placental Biohazard pouch
• Saline

Transportation container

The cord blood and cord tissue are transported to the FHGCC laboratory in a thermally insulated shipping box. It is fully tested to ISTA 7D and 3A standards for protection against adverse temperature. The container includes evaporative cooling system and a temperature data logger to monitor shipping condition.

The FHGCC kit uses NanoCool™ self-cooling system. The NanoCool™ engine ensures samples are held at the optimum temperature, so they arrive at the lab in the best condition for processing. Testing has demonstrated that the cooling system substantially improves cord tissue sample quality when compared to samples shipped without cooling. Using NanoCool™ technology, our collection kits were designed to provide full protection against the adverse temperature and shipping conditions in the Gulf Region.

Shipping Info

A dedicated domestic courier and team will pick up the sample from customers to return directly to the FHGCC laboratory for processing.

Processing Method

Clients of Future Health Group are offered cord blood processing that uses the semi-automated MacoPress Smart device to reduce the volume of plasma in the blood. This system allows for faster processing and minimizes the loss in cell viability. In addition, Future Health Group uses flow cytometry to confirm the number of stem cells successfully stored within the sample. Viability testing takes place on all cord tissue samples to ensure the cells are healthy and viable for clinical use.

Components Stored

Cord Blood is a rich source of Haematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) that can fully develop into other blood cells needed in transplant medicine and standard therapy for 80+ blood-related diseases such as: leukaemia, sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia, lymphoma, bone marrow disorders. Cord Blood stem cell separation and cryopreservation is carried out by specialised laboratory personnel, trained in the compliance to strict operating procedures. Semi-automated separation equipment is used to isolate the buffy coat fraction of the sample which is enriched in haematopoietic stem cells. The MacoPress Smart system separates the whole cord blood sample into three components: RBCs (Red Blood Cells), plasma and the buffy coat fraction. This volume reduction technique is used to eliminate a high percentage of RBCs in order to improve the viability of the final sample and to subsequently ensure maximal regenerative capabilities of the stem cells.

Cord Tissue holds Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MCSs), a type of progenitor cells that show great potential in future disease treatment by differentiating into muscles, bones, cartilage, and fat tissue. Therapies with MSC have been studied for the following: autism, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, cerebral palsy, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiac repair. The cord tissue is processed within sterile clean rooms, in Grade A laminar flow hoods, using aseptic techniques. The final product is cryopreserved in four vials for each client. Also, a slice of cord tissue is taken and digested with enzymes, the solution from this is then added to a microbiology bottle to be tested in our in-house microbiology lab using computer-controlled testing equipment.

Placental cells - Similar to the cord tissue, placental cells are a powerful source of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs). Therapies with MSC have been studied for the following: type 2 diabetes, orthopaedic conditions, Covid-19 pneumonia, and ankylosing spondylitis. The processing technique for placenta tissue is similar to cord tissue.

Amnion - The amniotic membrane is a unique part of the placenta and can be cut into sheets to be applied as wound dressings. It is also a source of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs). The amniotic membrane has potential therapeutic benefits such as cornea disorder, spinal cord disorders, brain injury, heart conditions, skin grafts, and liver fibrosis.

Wharton’s Jelly - This is a thick, jelly-like substance within the cord tissue which contains Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MCSs) and growth factors to promote promising treatments for: Alzheimer’s disease, orthopedic disorder, coronary heart disease and disc disorders.

Exosomes banking - Exosomes are emerging as a therapy in regenerative and aesthetic medicine. Our scientists will expertly isolate exosomes of the highest quality from your stem cells. The future of science lies within these tiny, nano-sized sacs, measuring between 30-150nm, which are rich in lipids, proteins, cytokines, and numerous growth factors. These components facilitate cell-to-cell communication and can promote processes such as proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in surrounding tissues. FHGCC offers storage of exosomes extracted from cord blood.

Storage Method

The samples are kept in the vapour phase of cryogenic nitrogen, which minimises the possibility of cross-contamination between samples.

Licensing & Accreditation

Future Health GCC is officially accredited by both the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA), while also holding approval from the National Stem Cells Committee in the UAE and the Ministry of Health which oversees healthcare regulations and policies within the country. Future Health GCC also holds the ISO 9001:2015 accreditation for quality management. Headquartered in Dubai Healthcare City, FHGCC is the newest location for Future Health Group providing the most modern devices and latest technology in the field of stem cells, cryopreservation, expansion and more advanced regenerative medicine perspectives of therapies. Together, our three international storage facilities have stored samples from over 94 countries worldwide, with a physical presence in more than 40 countries.

Future Health Group is one of the world’s most accredited stem cell banks. Already regarded by our peers as an innovative centre of excellence, for us it is equally important that our clients understand each and every carefully earned certification and its purpose.

Future Health Biobank (UK)
HTA licence
MHRA authorisation
AABB accreditation
HFEA licence
ISO9001 certification
Cyber Essentials

Future Health Biobank (Switzerland)
Swissmedic licence
OFSP licence
GDP certification

Clinical Experience

** Therapy numbers in the UAE and gulf countries include both cord blood and birth tissues. (Elsewhere in the world these numbers are cord blood only.)

Future Health Group has released over 125 samples for testing, trials, and therapies throughout Europe, the Middle East, the US, and more. These include nine cord blood therapies for conditions such as cerebral palsy, Fanconi Anaemia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), and Beta Thalassaemia.

Insurance

• For additional peace of mind, we have partnered with a reputable facility as our contingency insurance locally here in the United Arab Emirates.
• We also offer a program where if parents use their sample for treatment within a three-year period, they will receive a full refund.

Prices

Please see the FHGCC website for our pricing packages.

Our packages include:

• Dedicated courier pick-up
• Free release and shipment for cord blood therapies
• Full viability testing
• Stored for multiple uses

Additional Services

FHGCC offers the option to expand and culture different sources of stem cells to provide the highest quality for therapeutic purposes. Experienced Future Health GCC scientists are be able to isolate a baby’s stem cells from different sources including umbilical cord Blood, umbilical cord tissues, placenta, amniotic membrane and Wharton’s jelly, which potentially can be used to treat multiple diseases.

In additional to cord blood banking, services offered by FHGCC include:

• Banking of cord tissue & Wharton's Jelly
• Banking of Placenta tissue
• Banking of Amnion tissue
• Banking of Exosomes from cord blood
• Cell culture to expand perinatal stem cells
• Non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS)
• Dietary screening
• Storage of stem cells extracted from teeth (either baby teeth or healthy adult teeth extracted for orthodontic purposes)
• Liposuction of fat (adipose tissue) from adults

Prices with Additional Services

We offer special rates for multiple births, catering to both subsequent and new clients with competitive rates. For more information please contact our dedicated team of experts for assistance.