World's Largest Cord Blood Bank Helps its Competitors
SAN BRUNO, Calif., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Cord Blood Registry, the
world's largest cord blood stem cell bank, which provides services to clients
in 45 countries, reports a 98% success rate in processing cord blood stem
cells following the airport closures caused by the terrorist attacks of
Tuesday. The Registry also provided aid to smaller competitive cord blood
companies by processing their clients' cord blood samples at the Registry's
Tucson, AZ facility.
In the aftermath of Tuesday's attacks, transportation of critical medical
materials, including cord blood stem cells, was interrupted. Stem cells from
umbilical cord blood can be lifesaving in the treatment of patients with
cancers and blood disorders, but the cells should be processed within 32 hours
after collection. By working closely with ground transportation, the Registry
was able to coordinate timely delivery of nearly all cord blood samples that
were collected last week. This, despite the company's high volume of U.S. and
international business, which is about four times that of most competitors.
Perhaps most unusual in the business world, the Registry provided help to
their competition by processing some of their clients' samples. The
Registry's state-of-the-art stem cell processing laboratory located in Tucson
remained in operation throughout last week's events and is home to the world's
largest cord blood stem cell bank.
"Due to the circumstances, our primary concern was to help parents who
wanted to save their baby's cord blood stem cells for the future -- even if
they were clients of our competitors," says Stephen Grant, vice president and
co-founder of the Registry.
"Stem cells have lifesaving potential and show promise for treating
serious human health problems ranging from diabetes to heart disease. We felt
that the tragedies of last week should not take that potential away from
families," Grant continued.
Cbr Systems, Inc., offers cutting-edge health care technologies for
expectant parents and newborns through Cord Blood Registry, the world's
largest and most experienced family cord blood stem cell bank with more than
33,000 samples in storage, and NewScreen(TM), the most advanced newborn
screening available to expectant parents. More information is available at
http://www.cordblood.com or by calling toll-free 888-CORD BLOOD.
CONTACT: Amy Seirer of Cbr Systems, 800-588-6377, ext. 303, or by e-mail
at mediarelations@cbrsystems.com.
SOURCE Cbr Systems, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.cordblood.com
CONTACT:
Amy Seirer of Cbr Systems, Inc.,
800-588-6377, ext. 303, or mediarelations@cbrsystems.com
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