Cryo-Cell International has launched a new forward-looking, five-chamber cord blood freezer bag, which will give parents and doctors the opportunity to use the baby’s stored cord blood stem cells multiple times.
“We are thrilled to announce that with our new multi-compartment freezer bag, we are now able to offer parents the potential to use their baby’s cord blood stem cells multiple times for either single or varied clinical use,” said David Portnoy, Cryo-Cell International’s Chairman and Co-CEO. “This is another example of Cryo-Cell leading the industry to ensure that we offer parents the highest quality cord blood stem cell collection.”
New 5-chamber cord blood stem cell storage bag in metal cassette.Parents know that their baby’s cord blood stem cells are precious. They know that they can be used not only by the baby but also by other immediate family members and that they are currently employed in the treatment of nearly 80 diseases. Parents may have concerns of using their baby’s cord blood stem cells for a non-life-threatening condition or in a yet-unproven clinical trial in fear that they will deplete their stem cell supply.
The new five-chamber bag from Cryo-Cell International will give families the option to use some of their stem cells for one clinical application and still retain more stem cells for future use. In addition, the new cord blood freezer bag is being introduced along with other internal, proprietary process improvements that have increased post-thaw stem cell viability by up to 10 percent.
The five-chamber cryo-bag replaces the dual-chambered cord blood bag, which gained wide usage in the industry after it was developed in 2002. The dual-chambered bag held 80 percent of its contents in one main compartment, giving parents and doctors a 20 mL sample for transfusions and a 5 mL sample to retain for future use. The new cord blood freezer bag features five chambers, giving doctors the opportunity to utilize only a portion of the collection if desired.
The forward-looking design opens the door for future advancements in the expansion of stem cells. If the day comes when such practices have been firmly established, this new multi-chamber cryo-preservation bag will provide researchers, doctors, and families the possibility to extend usage of the stored cord blood. This may make families more receptive to clinical trials knowing that they will not have to use the entirety of their babies’ cord blood collections, which, in turn, can greatly expand the use of cord blood stem cells in the research of disease treatment.