Cord Blood

Because cord blood present within a newborn’s umbilical is rich with stem cells, it can be collected and stored for future medical use.

How Much Does Cord Blood Banking Cost?

July 18, 2018 By CadeHildreth Leave a Comment

Cord blood banking is an option available to most any parent after the birth of their child. There are proven benefits to the stem cells you can easily collect and store through the birthing process, although this is generally not common knowledge. While the cost of storing cord blood can often be more than parents want to pay, it might be a good idea to know what your options are before you decide.

This article will provide you with answers to some of the key questions about cord blood banking and stem cells in general. Read ahead to better understand why you might want to consider cord blood banking. [Read more…]

CryoHoldco Acquires Criocord, a Peruvian Cord Blood Bank and Cell Therapy Institute

July 10, 2018 By Cade Hildreth, Founder & President Leave a Comment

CryoHoldco has announced the acquisition of Criocord, a cord blood bank and cell therapy institute in Perù, for an undisclosed sum. CryoHoldco already owns the cord blood market leaders in Mexico and Colombia and now controls an important asset in Peru. A portfolio company of ACON investments, CryoHoldco is a stem cell bank holding company that is the market leader in Latin America and one of the largest cord blood banks worldwide. [Read more…]

GI Partners Buys Cord Blood Registry for $530M and Merges it with California Cryobank

June 15, 2018 By Cade Hildreth, Founder & President 1 Comment

AMAG Pharmaceuticals announced it is selling Cord Blood Registry (CBR), the largest private cord blood bank in the U.S., to GI Partners for a price tag of $530 million. This is $170 million less than AMAG Pharmaceuticals paid to acquire CBR as an asset in mid-2015, three years ago.

GI Partners, a private equity investment firm, is simultaneously acquiring CBR and California Cryobank (CCB), world’s premier donor sperm and egg bank, to merge the companies into a single entity that will be the global leader in stem cell storage and reproductive tissue services. [Read more…]

Evolution of the Cord Blood Banking Market – Transplant Medicine to RM to Longevity

May 25, 2018 By Cade Hildreth, Founder & President Leave a Comment

Cord blood banking initially emerged as a commercial service in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, because of potential applications related to Transplant Medicine. While an effective therapeutic approach, this unfortunately produced low utilization rates for stored cord blood units.

As a result, Regenerative Medicine (RM) applications of cord blood emerged over time, expanding approved used for cord blood to approximately 80 total. Exciting regenerative medicine applications for umbilical cord blood include its potential to treat neurological conditions, such as cerebral palsy (CP) and autism. These applications are being researched by one of the luminaries in the field, Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development and the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank.

As the cord blood market has expanded to include a wide range of perinatal tissues, including umbilical cord tissue, placental blood and tissue, and amniotic fluid and tissue, the new frontier has become Longevity applications. Perinatal is a term describing the period right before and after birth. [Read more…]

Best Cord Blood Banking Conferences

May 21, 2018 By Cade Hildreth, Founder & President 2 Comments

Cord blood conferences have been expanding in number and frequency over the past decade. Cord blood banking is the long-term storage and preservation of umbilical cord blood collected during the birth of a newborn. It is collected, because it is rich in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), a stem cell type that is widely used in transplant medicine and can be used to treat over 80 different conditions. The matrix of the umbilical cord, called Wharton’s Jelly, is also a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a cell type that is now being explored in more than 800 clinical trials worldwide.

Each year, cord blood industry experts gather at these events to discuss trends, research progress, and clinical and technological advances.

Below, we highlight leading cord blood industry events, many of which BioInformant attends, sponsors, or helps to organize. [Read more…]