January 23, 2007

Cbr - Cord Blood Registry 

Beth Griesdorn, Regional Manager for Cbr, presented an overview of current stem cell technology, cord blood banking and its significance for dealing with life threatening diseases.

Stem cell research for medical treatment has been ongoing for sometime and there is great potential for it to provide for major improvements in treatment of otherwise devastating diseases.  As a case in point, Beth shared a video of a family who's son was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia at a young age.  As his quality of life deteriorated and there was little hope of any improvement or for him to live a normal lifespan, the mom found out she was pregnant.  Through processing of stem cells found in the umbilical cord of the child's sibling when he was born, the boy received a transplant of the cells which ultimately led to a complete cure for his condition.  He now leads a normal healthy life growing up with his new brother.

Amidst significant controversy about stem cell research and the various forms, including embrionic, umbilical cord and bone marrow (adults), the umbilical cord stem cell harvesting provides comparably flexible cells as to that of embryonic without the ethical controversy attached.  It has significant benefits to bone marrow cells since the cells are very flexible in their adaptation to the specific problem and are more likely to succeed in providing a cure.

Current successes have been realized in the treatment of cancer, blood disorders and autoimmune disorders to name a few and there is great potential for it to work in the treatment of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other common debilitating diseases.

Collection of the cells must take place at the time of birth within a 10 minute window of time and is relatively simple.  Many health care providers are in tune with the procedure.  There are private and public banks but with a private bank such as Cbr, the donating family maintains control over the use of the cells.  Cbr has an upfront collection and processing fee of ~$1500 and an annual storage fee of $125.  Retrieval is at no charge.

For more information about Cbr and cord blood banking, follow this link.  

Hosting Rotarian: Anne Larger