CBR is launching a new program in collaboration with a select group of leading U.S. medical institutions that will enable children born at risk for brain injuries to participate in new medical research using their own cord blood stem cells. The program, called Newborn Possibilities, will ensure that the cord blood of children born at-risk for developing cerebral palsy is preserved, so that if the child is later diagnosed with the condition, he or she may be eligible to receive a new treatment (being researched under approval from the FDA) using the child’s own cord blood stem cells.

The program is being jointly launched in Tucson by CBR, Tucson Medical Center and two prominent advocacy organizations based in Tucson, Save the Cord Foundation and Watching Over Mothers and Babies Foundation (WOMB).  CBR plans to expand the program to other medical centers across the country in order to connect patients who may be at risk for neurological disabilities (and who have access to their cord blood stem cells) to FDA-approved clinical trials.

CBR will be providing cord blood banking collection and storage at no cost to the families who qualify, and the program is expected to enroll nearly 700 children in its first year. Because these children will have access to their own cord blood, they may be eligible for the first FDA-approved human clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of using a child’s own newborn blood stem cells to treat cerebral palsy.

A recent report by the March of Dimes estimates that 1 out of every 10 pregnancies in the U.S. results in a premature birth.  Infants who survive premature birth face a higher risk of developing neurological complications such as cerebral palsy. 

In addition, nearly 1.4 million individuals suffer a traumatic brain injury each year.  One of the highest risk groups are infants ages 0-4.  To date, there has been no cure for treating brain injuries.