The Stem Cell Source - Cord Blood and Beyond : newborn possibilities program

CBR’s Newborn Possibilities Program Provides Cord Blood Banking at No Cost to Families with an Identified Medical Need

PublicAffairs — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:54:00 GMT

For years, CBR has provided free banking services to families with a pre-existing medical need. Now, we’re excited to expand public awareness of our programs nationwide.

The initiative is designed to ensure that a newborn’s stem cells are processed and stored at no cost in cases of identified medical need and high-risk deliveries to enhance treatment options and increase access to clinical trials for conditions where limited therapies currently exist. Nearly 3,000 physicians have collected units for the Newborn Possibilities Program and CBR has stored more than 4,400 units under the program since its inception.

“The Newborn Possibilities Program is not only providing an important treatment option for family members diagnosed with specific cancers, blood diseases, or immune diseases, but may also help eligible children to enroll in clinical trials that are using a newborn’s own stem cells as a treatment for conditions like brain injury or cerebral palsy which have no treatments available today,” said Vice President, Scientific and Medical affairs at CBR, Heather Brown.

Read more about the potential of newborn stem cell medicine and the real families that have benefitted from banking.

To learn more about CBR’s Newborn Possibilities Program, visit http://www.cordblood.com/en/benefits-cord-blood/family-cord-bloods

Public Broadcasting Report: Banking Cord Blood for Babies at Risk

PublicAffairs — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:12:00 GMT

The Newborn Possibilities Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative that provides no-cost cord blood collection for babies at high risk for cerebral palsy, was recently featured on the Arizona Public Media website. You can view the 7-minute feature here.

The program, which was launched in 2009, is a collaboration between Cord Blood Registry (CBR), Tucson Medical Center and two advocacy organizations based in Tucson, Watching Over Mothers & Babies Foundation and Save the Cord Foundation. In a recent blog post, we chronicled the achievements of the Newborn Possibilities Program.

You can provide support to the program through a tax-deductible donation that will help families who have a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy and enrolled in a clinical trial using cord blood. Click here to learn more.

Nearly 200 Miles Across the Desert - Winning!

PublicAffairs — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:12:00 GMT

They took to the course. They conquered it and they won. They didn’t come in first place, or even third place, but they did reach an impressive fundraising mark with pledges surpassing $13,000, all going to the Newborn Possibilities Fund.

The twenty-four Cord Blood Registry employees who ran a relay race across 197-miles of Arizona desert finished in just over 32 hours. While the team did not set any land speed records, they are proud to have completed the race and that everyone finished without injury!

More noteworthy than healthy joints and finishing times, the CBR Team held a successful fundraising campaign for the Newborn Possibilities Fund. This fund helps direct financial grants to non-profit organizations to help cover travel costs for families who have a chance to participate in FDA-regulated cord blood stem cell trials.

The race and fundraising effort were an astounding success and the runners would like to express their deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed. Whether it was running support, a donation to the NPF, or just good vibes, the CBR Ragnar Team thanks you.

If you’d like to learn more about the race, or see pictures, please visit the CBR Facebook page. To learn more about the Newborn Possibilities fund or to donate to the cause, click here.

Newborn Possibilities Program Reaches Its First Goal!

PublicAffairs — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:39:00 GMT

We’re excited to announce that the Newborn Possibilities pilot collection program at Tucson Medical Center has reached its first-year goal of collecting umbilical cord blood stem cells for 750 newborns.

The cord blood collection program was launched by Cord Blood Registry (CBR), Tucson Medical Center and two advocacy organizations based in Tucson, Watching Over Mothers & Babies Foundation and Save the Cord Foundation. The program collects and stores cord blood stem cells of children who are born at-risk for potential neurological damage or disability based upon predetermined criteria. The service is conducted at no cost to the families who qualify. Following collection, program managers contact families on a regular basis to track the children’s medical and developmental status.For example, 13 babies enrolled in the program showed some signs of problems with development at 6 months of age. These families may have the opportunity in the future to participate in medical research using their own cord blood stem cells.

Children who have access to their own cord blood may be eligible –and some are currently participating – in several FDA-regulated clinical trials. These trials evaluate the use of a child’s own cord blood stem cells for traumatic brain injury,cerebral palsy, and type 1 diabetes and are taking place at top research universities around the country such as the University of Texas, Georgia Health Sciences University—home of the Medical College of Georgia, University of Florida, and Duke University.

Click here to learn more about the Newborn Possibilities Program and to donate to the program’s non-profit Newborn Possibilities Fund which offers financial support to families who have a child enrolled in one of these clinical trials.

A Journey of Two-hundred and Two Miles Begins With One Cause

PublicAffairs — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:16:00 GMT

Twenty-four Cord Blood Registry employees will be taking to the pavement, dirt, and trails of Arizona—competing in the 202-mile Ragnar del Sol relay race. But they won’t be running just to get from Point A (Wickenburg, AZ) to Point B (Tempe, AZ). They will be running to raise money in support of the Newborn Possibilities Fund (NPF).

The Newborn Possibilities Fund was created to help advance clinical research investigating the use of a child’s own cord blood stem cells as a treatment for conditions like cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury. The NPF directs financial grants to non-profit organizations to help cover travel costs for families who have the chance to participate in FDA-regulated trials. A growing body of published data suggests that a child’s own cord blood stem cells may play an important role in helping the body repair damage to nerve and brain tissue. Preliminary research has shown that cord blood stem cells have the ability to migrate to the site of injury and to organs important in immune modulation to help trigger the body’s own immune response system to stimulate repair and recovery. There are currently two FDA-regulated trials enrolling patients to evaluate the use of a child’s own cord blood stem cells in the treatment of cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury. To ensure quality and consistency of the stem cells used, Cord Blood Registry is the only cord blood bank to participate in these trials.

So, as twenty-four CBR employees put one foot in front of the other (some faster than others), traversing the Arizona desert, they’ll be doing such to support this excellent cause. Last year the CBR Ragnar team had twelve participants and raised more than $10,000. This year, with double the participants, they look to improve upon that already impressive fundraising effort, and need your help.

To join the fundraising effort and to learn more about this great cause, visit the Newborn Possibilities website. You can keep up to date with the CBR relay team (the race starts Feb 25) on CBR’s FaceBook page.

Opening the Possibilities of New Therapies for Children

PublicAffairs — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 23:18:00 GMT

The holidays are a joyous time, especially for children. But that isn’t always the case for families with a child who is injured or ill, especially if there are limited treatment options to address their condition.

That’s why the mission of the non-profit Newborn Possibilities Fund is so important. This first-of-its-kind initiative was created with the goal of offering financial support to families who have a young child enrolled in FDA-regulated clinical trials evaluating the use of the child’s own cord blood stem cells for brain injury. The ultimate goal is to advance clinical research that may help children lead more normal, healthy lives.

From now until the end of the year, CBR will match all donations of $25 or more made to the Newborn Possibilities Fund. Not only will your support make a difference to a family in need, but it will contribute to advancing an important area of medical research in pediatric brain injuries where current treatment options for are limited.
According to the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation, each year 10,000 babies and infants are diagnosed with cerebral palsy and an additional 1,200 - 1,500 preschool age children are also recognized to have cerebral palsy.

However, researchers are studying how a child's own cord blood stem cells may help the body repair and regenerate damaged nerve tissue. The Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine is already accepting patients for the first FDA-approved clinical trial to evaluate the use of a child's own cord blood stem cells as a medical intervention for cerebral palsy.

The study will enroll 40 children ages 2-12 who meet the inclusion criteria for the study and whose cord blood is stored at Cord Blood Registry. To donate this holiday season and encourage friends and family to do the same, please click here.

* The non-profit Newborn Possibilities Fund (NPF) is a donor-advised fund created by CBR and administered by the Tides Foundation, a public charity. In support of the NPF’s mission, CBR recommends grants be directed to non-profit institutions to provide financial assistance for families with a child participating in FDA-regulated clinical trials evaluating the use of the child’s own cord blood stem cells for conditions like cerebral palsy or pediatric brain injury.

Newborn Possibilities Fund: Helping Infants Go the Distance

PublicAffairs — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:24:00 GMT

In our last post, we introduced the Newborn Possibilities Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative launched in-part by CBR to ensure that children born at-risk for neurological damage and disability – conditions like cerebral palsy – are given every opportunity to participate in new medical research using their own newborn stem cells. CBR collects the cord blood of the infants in this program at no charge.

Today we are pleased to introduce the Newborn Possibilities Fund which is being established to provide financial assistance to families who may have difficulty participating in this new medical research due to significant expenses, like travel costs or lost days at work. One of the first trials being supported by the fund is the first FDA-approved clinical trial studying the use of cord blood stem cells to treat cerebral palsy.

On February 26-27, a team of 12 employees at CBR will be running a 200-mile race from Prescott to Mesa, Arizona (called the Ragnar Relay Del Sol) to raise money for the Newborn Possibilities Fund.

You can help with your generous support. We’ve set up a website to accept pledges and will collect funds after the race is complete. We invite you to support this worthy cause — and ask your friends and family to participate as well. And, CBR will match the total amount raised by the Ragnar running team dollar for dollar!

Whether you pledge $20 (a dime a mile) or $200 (a dollar a mile), every pledge will go to helping to better understand the role cord blood stem cells may play in helping children with cerebral palsy.

Go to NewbornPossibilites.com to learn more.