Is anyone else signed up for CBAI news on the CBAI website? I got this tonight. Nice.
Cord Blood America News
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Cord Blood America (OTC BB: CBAI): In The News
Posted: 01 Jun 2010 03:35 PM PDT
Cord Blood America (OTC BB: CBAI) is the stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally. This clipping service will keep you up-to-date on accomplishments in this important health arena.
Cord Blood Stem Cells - A Global Market Overview
Global cord blood stem cells market for 2010 is estimated at about US$4.5 billion. The market is further projected to register a robust CAGR of 27.3% during the period 2006-2015 to reach US$15 billion by 2015.
Umbilical cord and placenta, once considered medical waste are emerged to be a valuable source of stem cells. The cord blood stem cells show the potential to treat the fatal diseases such as leukemia, cardiac attacks and debilitating diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Cord blood stem cells are also widely used in therapies such as blood disorders, bone and tissue engineering, dermatology and diabetes.
A new study "Cord Blood Stem Cells - A Global Market Overview" reviews, analyzes and projects the global market for Cord Blood Stem Cells for the period 2006-2015.
Key Trends
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood may be used to build new heart valves to be implanted in children with congenital heart problems. So far in infants with faulty heart which cannot be surgically treated the options were to use donated human organs, artificial materials, or replacement from animal tissue.
"Family Cord Blood Banking Act" changes the hitherto followed IRS code and provides tax incentives and allow payment for umbilical cord blood banking through Medical expenses tax deduction, Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRS) and Medical savings Account.
Statistics on umbilical cord transplant reveals an upward trend and this is due to the success of research in cord blood, tests and transplant procedures. This reiterates the fact that umbilical cord transplant has been useful in providing treatments to many diseases and many people are opting for this treatment.
The cord blood stem cells are capable of migrating to the injured cardiac tissue; improve blood flow, vascular function and the overall heart function. Nutrients and oxygen are brought to the part of the damaged heart via the blood to help in recovery. The volume of blood should be high which is where the cord blood stem cells come to the rescue as these cells are capable of giving rise to vascular endothelial like cells.
Leukemia Patient at 4
By CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook and CBS News Producer Phil Hirschkorn
When 20-month-year-old Devan Tatlow was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in 2007, his parents were devastated but determined that their only child could beat the disease.
"It was a complete nightmare" his mother, Indira Lakshmanan, tells CBS News. "We were shocked."
The family, which had just arrived in China for a job change, abruptly returned to the United States. Devan spent four months in Boston Children's Hospital, undergoing chemotherapy, then losing his hair and eyelashes.
"What they certainly didn't take from him was his spirit," his father, Dermot, told CBS News. "He's a brave kid."
Devan's cancer went into remission. He turned four last November. The family moved to Washington, D.C. Life seemed to move on.
"We really thought we dodged that, we were done, he was cured. And we found out we were wrong," Indira says.
Wrong because last month routine testing showed the leukemia was back.
Devan's doctors, led by pediatric oncologist Dr. Aziza Shad at Georgetown University Hospital, believe Devan's best hope for survival is a bone marrow transplant, which are sought by nearly 15,000 Americans with diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma every year.
But finding a genetic match for such a transplant isn't that easy when the patient is mixed race or a racial minority. No match has been found for Devan, whose mother is half Indian and whose father is Irish.
"It's the children who come from ethnic minorities, the children who come from multiracial backgrounds - that's where we have a problem," Dr. Shad told CBS News.
Ultimately, about two-thirds of whites are able to find and receive a bone marrow transplant, according to the National Marrow Donor Program. But the odds are only 50-50 for those of mixed race, according to Dr. Willis Navarro, NMDP Medical Director for Transplant Services.
For Hispanics and Asians, only four of every ten seeking a bone marrow transplant succeed in getting one, while only one-third of African-Americans do, Navarro said.
"We had a beautiful 19-year-old African-American woman, who desperately needed to go to transplant, because of her disease. In spite of looking for months for a good donor for her, we were unsuccessful, and we lost her last month," Dr. Shad said.
With no bone marrow match in hand, Devan's doctors have pinned their hopes on cord blood, which is collected at the time of birth from umbilical cords and placentas that would otherwise be discarded. Cord blood has stem cells that can replace diseased bone marrow.
Indira says, "Devan is an only child. He's everything. He's our life."
Father continues mission after daughter's death.
Tami S. Zimmerman
CNYLink
5/28/10
Warm. Compassionate. Brilliant. Gorgeous.
Words family and friends use to describe Natasha Collins, a longtime Manlius, New York, resident who last year lost her battle to leukemia.
"[Natasha] was as close to perfect as someone can be," said her high school friend Genevieve Pandori. "She had such a great attitude and was always upbeat and positive. Natasha was truly someone who was beautiful on the inside and out."
Collins was 25 years old when she was first diagnosed. Her chance for a cure, however, was dramatically lessened because she was of mixed heritage; her father an African-American, her mother an Irish American. The relation to a cure is almost always a direct result of being able to locate a perfectly or partially matched bone marrow donor.
It is impossible for people of mixed heritage to find a perfectly matched bone marrow donor due to their genetic diversity. Those people of mixed heritage that are fortunate enough to find a partially matched donor frequently suffer or die from graft versus host related diseases.
Collins died from complications involving a partially matched bone marrow transplant to treat her leukemia. But there was an alternative. Had she been able to receive a cord blood transplant she would likely still be alive today. Yale-New Haven Hospital, where Collins was attending medical school and also received her transplant, however, only performs bone marrow transplants for adults.
Cord blood is obtained from the umbilical cord that links a mother and child. The blood present in the umbilical cord is a rich source of the same stem cells found in bone marrow.
"Partially matched cord blood stem cells from an unrelated donor, however, offer the advantage of never causing the life-threatening responses that frequently occur when partially matched, unrelated bone marrow stem cells are used for a transplant," said Dr. Tedd Collins, a clinical immunologist and Natasha's father. "That means your chance of surviving a transplant and, therefore, your disease, is much, much greater."
After his daughter's death, Dr. Collins refocused two organizations that Natasha helped to create before she died to help save the lives of others trapped in the same situation.
"Natasha's Place and Become My Hero honor her struggle," Dr. Collins said. "Our combined mission is very simple. We are here to insure that all individuals receive equal access to the life saving potential of effectively safe stem cell transplants, not because it's good business but because it's our moral imperative."
Transplant physicians have been performing cord blood transplants for a quarter of a century, and although they are not as established as bone marrow transplants, they are on the rise, and according to Dr. Collins, will likely be the transplant of choice in the near future.
"Several transplant centers, including the University of Minnesota, only do cord blood transplants because they are much safer and provide the same effective benefit to patients," he said.
Today, Become My Hero is working with 10 people who either don't have or can't find a bone marrow donor. Once it's determined who will be their best cord blood matches, Dr. Collins said they would search the globe to find their donors.
"We are currently trying to save the life of a young, Canadian hockey star, said Dr. Collins, who has been recently featured in many articles and news interviews, including CBC Canada. "We will be doing cord blood collection in North America and Germany in hopes of finding her a donor. These are the kind of things that were spurred on by my daughter's death."
Most people typically find out about Become My Hero through word of mouth, bone marrow recruitment organizations and other cancer victims. To learn more about Become My hero, visit BecomeMyHero.org.Additionally, if you do not need a stem cell donor but are pregnant and interested in learning more about privately banking or donating your cord blood visit NatashasPlace.org
"We will miss [Natasha] always and the world would definitely be a better world with her in it," Dr. Collins said. "But hopefully, a little piece of her will continue to help others live the life she didn't."
