Thursday, December 18, 2008

N.E. Cord Blood Bank offers grants for future storage

By Marc Songini

The New England Cord Blood Bank Inc. will be awarding $800 grants to expecting couples to store their child’s umbilical cord blood.

The Boston-based global cord blood processing and storage facility provider announced the program on Thursday. Harvested cord blood can potentially provide a resource to fight chronic and acute diseases that develop in both the donor or a family member, according to blood-banking proponents. Currently, cord blood is used to treat as many as 80 diseases, including sickle-cell anemia, leukemia, and other types of cancer.

However, storing this once-in-a-lifetime supply of the blood does come with a financial cost that gives many expecting parents pause, the company stated. To remedy this, the firm will provide grant money to anyone enrolling in the service between now and April 2009.

The company provides a kit to the birthing doctor to simplify the process of taking cord blood. After the baby’s delivery, the doctor takes the umbilical-cord blood so the client can send it to the company’s lab in Newton. The blood is processed and then the viable stem cells stored there securely for up to 20 years or even longer. The family of the child pays an annual fee for the storage.

The New England Cord Blood Bank has been operating since 1995. Its parent company is the privately owned Newton-based New England Cryogenic Center Inc., which has been in existence since 1982.