Cord Blood Registery

Cord Blood Registery

INTERNET: www.cordblood.com

PHONE: 888-CORDBLOOD

OFFICE: San Bruno, CA

STORAGE: Tucson, AZ

Accreditation: AABB, CA, MD, NJ, NY

COMMENT: CBR is one of the original family Cord Blood banks, has the world’s largest Cord Blood inventory, and has the most experience with family transplants.

SERVICES & DISCOUNT OPTIONS:

• List of CBR transplants.
• Real people, real stories of transplant patients who banked with CBR
• Video center: View films of cord blood collection, processing, transplant, etc.
• Option of syringe or bag collection kit, depending on physician/patient preference.
• Live customer support available 24/7; parents or physician can phone during delivery.
• No rush fees, but $150 discount for enrollment at least 60 days prior to due date.
• Courier transport with Quick International provided for an additional flat fee of $150.
• Prior to Dec. 2006 CBR separated MonoNuclear Cells by Ficoll-Hypaque (F-H) centrifuge spinning and stored in vials.
• In Dec. 2006 CBR began separating MonoNuclear Cells with the AutoXpress Process (AXP) developed by Thermogenesis/GE. This method is an automated, fully closed and sterile system that yields final MNC recovery of 99.3%.
• The AXP Stem Cell processing platform has 510(k) device clearance from the FDA.
• In 2007, CBR is operating processing lines with both F-H and AXP methods, but plans to phase out F-H once AXP validation is complete in late 2007.
• If the number of collected Stem Cells is low (for transplant use), parents are informed and given the choice to store it anyway or not store it and receive a full refund.
• Payment plans available, starting at $48/month for 60 months. Discounts for prepaid storage.
• At present (Oct 2007), CBR is running a promotion of $150 off: first year cost with courier is $2000.
• Client Referral Program awards a year of free storage. CBR also has a Gift Registry.
• Discounts $750 to clients with credentials as medical professionals.
• Collecting physicians are offered liability insurance of $5 million per occurrence and $10 million aggregate.
• Quality Service Guarantee: If you need to use your child’s Stem Cells and they fail to engraft, you will receive a refund of all fees paid and an additional $50,000.
• Charity program: Designated Transplant Program [TM], in operation since 1995, offers free banking if a first or second degree relative of the baby has a disease treatable by transplantation.
• As of June 2007, CBR claims an inventory of 175,000 cord blood collections.

ADDITIONAL information: Cord Blood Registry (CBR) holds the first privately banked cord blood collection. Founder David Harris, PhD, stored the cord blood from his son Alexandre in 1992. The bank was originally housed in a lab at the University of Arizona, where Harris is a professor of immunology. The business founder of CBR is CEO Tom Moore. In 2004 CBR bought a new building next to the Tucson airport with 61,140 sq ft space and opened their lab there on 5 Dec 2005. As of Feb 2007, CBR is the only one of the large private banks which continues to be privately owned. CBR originally adopted “Ficoll-Hypaque” processing for family storage. This method of processing was and is routinely used in Stem Cell research labs because it results in a small final volume. The blood goes through two cycles of hard centrifuge spinning to separate MonoNuclear Cells almost completely. The final sample is small enough to fit in two or three 5cc vials. Transplant doctors have successfully used dozens of CBR units processed by the Ficoll-Hypaque method. In 2006 CBR moved to automate their processing in anticipation of future growth. In Dec 2006 CBR started using the AutoXpress Process (AXP) automated processing system which yields 99.3% recovery of MNC. The AXP platform stores blood in compartmented bags with integrally attached testing segments. However, the AXP does not use ordinary blood bags, it uses special bags which are blow-molded and individually pressure tested. CBR is the only family bank using the AXP system and is the main customer for Thermogenesis bag production. As of June 2007, CBR processing lines are 20% F-H and 80% AXP.

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