CBR (Cord Blood Registry) has announced that the initial validation testing of the company's proprietary CellAdvantage system using new automation technology for cell processing has passed with flying colors. The process, developed by ThermoGenesis and distributed by GE Healthcare, is the industry's first functionally-closed, automated cord blood stem cell processing technology. The tests demonstrated that CBR's new system can meet or exceed the company's current mononucleated cell (MNC) -- or stem cell -- recovery rate of 98 percent, which is the highest published cell recovery rate in the industry."Achieving these extremely high cell recovery rates through automation is a very significant advancement for our company and for the families we serve," said Tom Moore, chief executive officer of CBR. "Our business is experiencing dramatic growth as expectant parents increasingly choose to preserve their baby's cord blood stem cells with us. By integrating AXP automation technology into our CellAdvantage system, CBR is the only family bank that will be able to increase our cell processing capacity and at the same time maintain or exceed our industry-leading cell recovery rates."
Cord Blood Registry is the first and only family cord blood bank to adopt this cutting-edge technology and offer it to consumers who wish to cryopreserve their own genetically-related stem cells for future therapeutic use. The world's largest public donation bank, The New York Blood Center, has also adopted AXP processing.
Cord blood stem cells are obtained from the blood remaining in an umbilical cord immediately after birth. It is a rich source of stem cells (so-called "adult" stem cells) that can be collected easily and painlessly without risk to the newborn or mother. And unlike the hyped-up, wishful thinking surrounding embryonic stem cell research, no one dies. "Adult" stem cell research thus represents science at its best: moral, professional and genuinely helpful to patients.
Cord blood stem cells have been used therapeutically for nearly 20 years and in more than 10,000 transplants worldwide. Today, they are used successfully to treat a wide range of blood diseases, genetic and metabolic disorders, immunodeficiencies and certain forms of cancer. A number of medical research studies have demonstrated that cord blood stem cells are able to differentiate into multiple cell types and may have potential use in regenerative medical therapies, such as treating diabetes, cardiac disease and several neurological disorders.
For more on this business-oriented news item (but one with important moral significance), check out this PR Newswire story.
