Oldsmar, Fla. – June 18, 2014 – Cryo-Cell International, Inc., the world’s first cord blood bank, announced today that, after demonstrating compliance through an extensive inspection and auditing process with the NETCORD-FACT
International Standards for Cord Blood Collection, Processing, Testing, Banking, Selection and Release, Cryo-Cell was awarded FACT (the Foundation for the Accreditation for Cellular Therapy) accreditation. This accreditation applies to all services and facilities that were inspected by FACT, related to cord blood collection, processing, testing,
cord blood banking, selection and cord blood release processes for clinical administration.
“I am honored that Cryo-Cell has been awarded this prestigious quality accreditation that is a direct result of the dedicated efforts of many members of the Cryo-Cell team and the company’s focus on obtaining the best possible stem cell collection for those parents that make the intelligent choice of Cryo-Cell for banking their baby’s cord blood,” stated David Portnoy, Chairman of the Board and Co-CEO. Mr. Portnoy continued, “As demonstrated by data presented by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at the recent 2014 International Cord Blood Symposium indicating that FACT Accreditation of the cord blood bank came out as a positive indicator of outcome of cord blood transplants when considered in multivariate analysis, Cryo-Cell is confident and proud that our adherence to FACT quality standards combined with our
superior processing technology results in our clients getting better cord blood stem cell collections than at any other cord blood bank.”
“We are pleased that Cryo-Cell has met the requirements of the Foundation and has been granted accreditation for Cord Blood Banking, said Dr. Phyllis Warkentin, FACT Medical Director. She added, “We strongly encourage other private only cord blood banks to follow Cryo-Cell’s lead by voluntarily adhering to our quality standards and seeking accreditation with FACT in order to raise the effectiveness of cord blood units in clinical use.”
When investigating which cord blood bank to choose to get the best cord blood stem cell collection for their baby, parents are strongly encouraged to view the
cord blood comparison matrix on the Cryo-Cell website.
About Cryo-Cell International
Founded in 1989, Cryo-Cell International (OTCQB:CCEL), Inc. is the world's first private cord blood bank. More than 500,000 parents from 87 countries trust Cryo-Cell to preserve their family members' stem cells. Cryo-Cell's mission is to provide clients with state-of-the-art stem cell cryopreservation services and support the advancement of regenerative medicine. Cryo-Cell operates in a facility that is FDA registered, cGMP-/cGTP-compliant and is licensed in all states requiring licensure. Besides being AABB accredited as a cord blood facility, Cryo-Cell is also the first U.S. (for private use only) cord blood bank to receive FACT accreditation for adhering to the most stringent cord blood quality standards set by any internationally recognized, independent accrediting organization. In addition, Cryo-Cell is ISO 9001:2008 certified by BSI, an internationally recognized, quality assessment organization. Cryo-Cell is a publicly traded company, OTCQB: CCEL. For more information, please visit
www.cryo-cell.com.
About FACT
In December 1994, the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) merged their Standards into a single document covering all aspects of hematopoietic cell therapy (collection, processing, and transplantation). The two societies established FACT in order to develop a voluntary Inspection and Accreditation Program based on the joint Standards. FACT promotes quality medical and laboratory practice of cellular therapy through its peer-developed standards and voluntary inspection and accreditation program.
In 2000, recognizing the global impact of cord blood banking and transplantation, FACT partnered with NetCord to develop international standards for cord blood collection, processing, testing, banking, selection and release. The NetCord foundation is an international network of non-profit public cord blood banks created to promote the establishment of high quality cord blood banks and improve the quality of cord blood products through study and research.