SOURCE: Cryobanks International, Inc.

December 06, 2008 18:00 ET

Cryobanks International and Donor Services of Indiana Team Up for Cord Blood

Companies Expect Program to Add 600 to 800 Cord Blood Units to International Registries

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL--(Marketwire - December 6, 2008) - Cryobanks International, Inc. (CI) and Donor Services of Indiana (DSI) in Ft. Wayne, IN, entered into a procurement agreement for umbilical cord blood effective December 1, 2008. Under the agreement DSI will collect cord blood on behalf of CI for donation and private storage from mothers in seven Ft. Wayne area hospitals. CI will validate, process and store the qualified units at their Altamonte Springs facility. Donated units which qualify will be listed on various stem cell registries for potential use around the world. Privately stored cord blood will be stored at CI.

"Indiana recently passed House Bill 1020 to establish a state operated cord blood bank, but it is still uncertain if funding will be made available to make it happen. DSI is working with Cryobanks now to promote the donation of cord blood in the seven hospitals it services. We are excited to be working with this very professional group that understands the importance of umbilical cord blood donation," commented Robert Gravely, chief operating officer of Cryobanks.

Terri Tibbot, chief operating officer for DSI, commented, "DSI is extremely excited to be one of the very first in Indiana to establish an active cord blood collection program for public cord blood banking. Working with Cryobanks International will allow us the opportunity to facilitate and offer this program state wide."

CI completed training DSI's collection team this week. These collectors will enroll donors, conduct the collection and inspect the cord blood units at the hospital prior to shipping to CI for processing. In 2009, both companies hope the program will add 600 to 800 qualified cord blood units to the registry systems such as the National Marrow Donor Program. There continues to be a dramatic need for greater ethnic diversity in the registry systems. DSI hopes to help address this challenge through its seven hospitals and working with CI to promote cord blood donation more proactively in those communities.

Umbilical cord blood donation has been in practice since the 1990s and cord blood stem cells have been used in over 12,000 stem cell transplants worldwide. It is considered a simple and painless procedure for the mother and child. CI provides DSI with collection kits and DSI works with the donating mothers at the hospital to enroll them in the program or set up their private storage. Expectant mothers who are interested in donating their babies' cord blood can enroll in the program early by visiting CI's website and downloading the necessary paperwork. That paperwork must be returned to CI no later than the mother's 34th week of pregnancy to be processed. If the mother or parents prefer to privately store their child's cord blood they can do so with DSI or on CI's website as well. Interested parents can find more information on at www.cryo-intl.com or www.dsitissuebank.org. For a list of participating hospitals mothers can contact either company as well.

About Cryobanks:

Cryobanks International, Inc., located in Altamonte Springs, FL, is a leader in the collection, processing, and banking of stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. The stem cell rich cord blood (CB) is processed and stored using the company's proprietary processing methods and are stored for use in unrelated transplants. Cryobanks established the first and only nationwide public cord blood donation bank. The company also provides personal storage services through which parents can elect to store their child's cord blood for their own family's possible future use. In recent years, cord blood transplants (CBTs) have become widely recognized as a safe and effective alternative to traditional bone marrow transplants (BMT). Cryobanks International has processed over 16,000 cord blood units in its 13+ years of operation. The company is a National Marrow Donor Program Network Cord Blood bank, and is AABB accredited, FDA registered and cGMP/cGTP compliant. Cryobanks is also licensed by the States of New York, New Jersey and California for CB collection and/or processing of cord blood. The company also provides consulting and management services for those interested in developing their own cord blood banking operations. For more information about Cryobanks International call 1-800-869-8608 or visit the website at www.cryo-intl.com.

About Donor Services of Indiana

DSI provides human allograft tissues and services to save and enhance patients' lives. DSI provides procurement and distribution of quality tissue grafts serving donor families, physicians, hospitals and our community partners. Strict recovery procedures are used to ensure quality and safe tissue grafts for transplantation. In addition, DSI partners with several processors to assure the availability of quality tissues. The processor's Medical Director reviews all donor information, and if found acceptable the tissue is released for transplantation or research purposes. While DSI supports emergency requests nationally and internationally, the vast majority of tissue is returned to help people right here in Indiana. For more information about Donor Services of Indiana call (877) 749-9105 or visit the website at www.dsitissuebank.org.