CBA Florida Inc. (fka CBAI)

[necktoeye]

Date: Feb 20, 2004
Words: 628
Publication: PR Newswire


PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Philadelphia-based CorCell, Inc., a national private cord blood bank, today announced a new national program to help families with children suffering from leukemia, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, inborn errors of metabolism such as Hurler disease or other allogeneic stem cell (bone marrow) transplant-treatable diseases.

The new Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program will be provided at no cost to eligible families. This valuable service comes at a time when similar programs funded by the National Institutes of Health are reaching capacity.

"Families of children with certain types of leukemia and other inherited diseases for which bone marrow transplantation is potentially curable will have the ability to utilize this potentially life-saving resource at no cost to the families," said Robert Iannone, MD, a bone marrow transplant physician in Philadelphia.

Through CorCell's Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program, when a family with a child who might benefit from an allogeneic transplant is expecting another child, CorCell will facilitate collection of the umbilical cord blood at the time of delivery. CorCell is a licensed and accredited private cord blood company, dedicated to stem cell preservation since 1996. After collection, CorCell will transport the blood by medical courier to its laboratory where it is processed, tested and stored. If the cord blood is needed for transplantation, CorCell will then facilitate transportation of the blood to the transplant center.
Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Voorhees, who sponsored recent legislation for stem cell research in New Jersey, said: "I saved my children's cord blood at birth with CorCell. I am grateful that my family is healthy and that I had the financial resources to do so. CorCell's Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program expands this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to families who are facing a life- threatening illness, regardless of their ability to pay. From a regional and national perspective this is significant and important to the health and well- being of our families. My hat is off to CorCell for bringing this service to families."

CorCell waives its usual fee of $1,350 and the cost of the first 5 years of storage to provide this program at no cost to a mother who will give birth in the U.S. and already has a child with a condition which may require allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The expected child must be a full sibling of the child who might benefit from a transplant.

The Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program also is supported by Independence Blue Cross, which has a majority ownership interest in CorCell, Inc. "Independence Blue Cross has long offered our members access to CorCell and the potentially life-saving service it offers to preserve a baby's umbilical cord blood," said G. Fred DiBona, Jr., President and CEO of IBC. "With the implementation of its national sibling donor program, CorCell expands its service to parents who may have a child facing a life-threatening illness, but could not afford to save this precious resource. It's truly an invaluable service."

"In situations like these, no family should be without the ability to treat a life-threatening disease because of financial reasons," said Marcia Laleman, President and CEO of CorCell. "Our Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program offers the chance for treatment with a simple, safe and effective collection, testing and storage process. It's a gift that can potentially provide life- saving treatment - and that's what's important to CorCell."

About CorCell, Inc.

Ok I did some highlights on what I think your talking about.
Is this still continueing today is the question I am going to ask.

This deal was done prior to CBAI ownership. Do we still honor that contract that was made prior to ownership??

Also since some of those asstes are now past the 5 year free storage does CBAI recieve yearly annuity and if so from who?

I think thats a fair question.