Cord Blood Developments

Many expectant parents wonder if cord blood banking is covered by their health insurance or can be deducted from their taxes as a medical expense. There are, in fact, times when cord blood banking is considered an eligible medical expense covered by a family's HSA, FSA, HRA or health insurance plan and can qualify as a tax deduction. Let’s explore.

A Duke University Medical Center phase two study will be looking for 100 adults who recently suffered a stroke to test the efficacy of cord blood infusions as a treatment. Participants will then be followed for one year to determine the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

The use of hematopoietic stem cells in treatment for children with Sickle Cell Anemia has been proven successful from sibling or matched donor transplants in children. Eemerging research is showing promise for groundbreaking treatments that are sure to broaden the uses of stem cells. 

You can imagine the elation Patricia and Lou felt when they learned they would be having a child. Unfortunately, that feeling of excitement turned into apprehension when a routine blood test at the five-month mark found Patricia had an aggressive form of leukemia. “I was so excited to be a mother, and at the same time, all I could think about was, Will she have a mother?” said Patricia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that women who are pregnant in any trimester should talk to their physicians and consider postponing travel to any area where Zika virus transmission is active. So if you’re pregnant, how worried should you be about Zika? And how will it affect your plans for cord blood banking?

Researchers report the rate of rejection, infection and hospitalization are lower among leukemia patients receiving cord blood than those receiving matched, unrelated bone marrow. The study's results may lead doctors to lean towards cord blood as a transplant option over bone marrow when deciding what’s best for their patients.

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg has conducted research in the field of cord blood banking and transplantation, specifically focusing on the development of cellular therapies. Since participating in the first-ever umbilical cord blood transplant in 1988, she has continued to contribute to ongoing developments in the field.

One morning, I got into a conversation with a mom I met in an OBGYN’s office in Clearwater, Florida. She was with her daughter who looked to me to be about 7. She seemed ‘clued in’ to who I was from the start, and when I asked her, “Have you considered cord blood banking for your baby?” The mom confided in me that her daughter with her at the appointment had recovered from leukemia as a result of a cord blood transplant.

It’s not the future. It’s now. So says Dr. James Baumgartner, pediatric neurosurgeon at Florida Children’s Hospital, with regard to the use of cord blood stem cells to treat a number of prevalent, devastating conditions in children. We look at the study by Dr. Baumgartner that shows cord blood can restore a significant level of hearing in children suffering from acquired hearing loss by increasing the number of functioning hair cells in the organ of corti.

One of our client service representatives started a grass roots charity drive to raise money and/or get new toys donated to the Joe DiMaggio Children’s hospital not far from our Miami office. As a cord blood banking company, we are by our nature often confronted with the reality of a sick child. Seventy-nine families have successfully used their baby’s stem cells stored at Cryo-Cell for transplants. As a company, we become part of these families’ stories.