Preserving Life
(Excerpt from Business Excellence) March 2007

ViaCell provides kits to parents so their baby's umbilical cord blood can be collected at birth and shipped to the company's processing and storage facility in Hebron, KY. Once at the lab, the blood is tested to record the volume collected, number and viability of nucleated cells, sterility, blood type and the percent of stem cells. It is then processed to maximize the number of stem cells preserved. When this is complete, the cord blood is frozen using strict controls, and stored using liquid nitrogen.

Blood drive
(Excerpt from The Manufacturer Magazine) By Linda Seid Frembes February 2007

Pregnancy and birth are exciting times for expectant parents. New moms and dads are presented with a range of new options and choices for their child-from clothing to feeding and even a savings plan for college. But there is one choice that is critical and must be made at the time of birth: the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood for later use.

Companies like ViaCord, a division of cellular therapy company ViaCell with headquarters in Cambridge, MA, specialize in the collection and storage of the stem cells found in a newborn's umbilical cord. "We only get one opportunity to bank a unit of umbilical cord blood in a patient's lifetime," said Jim Corbett, president of ViaCell Reproductive Health, who is responsible for the ViaCord division. "We realize the importance of this raw material."

Stem Cell Advances in Treating Alzheimer's and Multiple Sclerosis
(Excerpt from emediawire.com) By International Spinal Cord Regeneration Center
February 17, 2007

The use of pure cord blood stem cells by a team of research doctors in Mexico has resulted in breakthrough improvements in patients with Alzheimer's disease and progressive multiple sclerosis.

Alzheimer's
A 72 year old female Alzheimer's patient from the U.S. (Mrs. M.) who had little short term memory ability by mid-summer 2006 experienced the recovery of this vital mental function in the months following a catheter infusion of purified cord blood stem cells in Mexico…

Multiple Sclerosis
Jim Haverlock, 67, has struggled for thirteen years with progressive multiple sclerosis, an insidious neurologic disease which has steadily eroded his balance, energy and ability to speak clearly and walk without a cane... During November 2006 Jim received an IV (intravenous) drip infusion of cord blood stem cells… By early February Jim was reporting high levels of physical and mental energy, better balance and the ability to crisscross his house on foot without a cane (Something nearly impossible prior to the stem cell treatment).