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This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
When a child is born, the umbilical cord is cut and clamped, and then — usually thrown away..... However, that umbilical cord contains an average of 100 milliliters of blood, rich in stem cells, which can be grown into many different types of cells... Though the cord itself is considered non-essential, it has potential for huge medical research possibilities. In fact, this is one way to get stem cells without involving a fetus.
Eliott Spencer and Doug Schmid are operating the Utah Cord Bank, which, at a customer's request, collects stem-cell rich blood from umbilical cords and stores it, at a parent's request. ...Customers pay privately to store the cord blood.... It's partially as an insurance policy for families in case they run into any medical problems with their children, and the stem cells can then be used to address that problem...
Utah Cord Bank separates the stem cells then cryogenically freezes and stores them in liquid nitrogen tanks .... Eliott and Doug were actually the first to do it in Utah extensively.... Many parents have chosen to store cord blood there once they find out about the service.
Eliott and Doug came up with the idea while they were post-doctoral researchers at the U... Eliot was working with platelets and Doug started looking at stem cells from cord blood and how they differentiated from the rest of the body.. They both came across a site that operated a cord blood bank, and the idea for Utah Cord Bank was born.
One of their challenges has been people's misperception of what they offer. When you say the word stem cells, most think of embryonic stem cells which can be different politically and morally than umbilical cord stem cells. Umbilical stem cells are considered mainly as a medical waste product. This means there's essentially no difference between the blood Utah Cord Bank collects and blood stored at a blood bank.
Utah Cord Bank opened almost nine years ago, and now operates from a brand new building on the Sandy Parkway, which Eliott and Doug bootstrapped ...
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Utah Cord Bank 1-877-UCB-STEM www.utahcordbank.com
