All told, there are over 70 different diagnoses that use cord blood to treat children and adults. More than 20,000 units of cord blood stem cells have been used in transplants and since 2007 the International Marrow Donor program released more cord blood stem cells than bone marrow stem cells for transplant.
Bearing this in mind “Biostór", an Irish firm with a capacity for storage of cord blood pose the question.
“(w)hy do we in Ireland choose to discard it when it is such a rich source of stem cells, the preferred therapy to treat leukaemia and lymphoma and could save 20 Irish adults and children each year?”
see article on your country your call and related youtube video
Biostór say the physical establishment for cryogenic storage and manufacturing already exist at their plant in Wexford Ireland. The facility they report, meets the required standards of the EU, the FDA in the US, and has been inspected and licensed by the Irish Medicine Board as a Tissue Establishment. It is the first spoke in the wheel and a vital interface between academia, the medical profession and industry.
With a birth rate of more than 75,000 annually there is no question about the availability of cord blood. Clearly this could provide a platform for ethical stem cell research and therapies.
