Generate Life Sciences' Cord Blood Registry (CBR®) has helped 10,000 Families enroll in its Newborn Possibilities Program (NPP)
The Newborn Possibilities Program has helped many CBR clients like Carol Mulumba, sickle cell disease survivor and author, access life-changing stem cell therapies
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Generate Life Sciences is announcing that more than 10,000 families have been enrolled in the Newborn Possibilities Program (NPP) offered by the company's newborn stem cell preservation bank, Cord Blood Registry (CBR®).
Children diagnosed with serious conditions and those born with low Apgar scores indicating the potential for future pediatric developmental disability — where preserving their umbilical cord for future use is crucial — can take advantage of umbilical cord preservation and newborn stem cell treatments through the NPP. The program also supports the training of healthcare providers, which will help them identify infants who could benefit from potential newborn stem cell treatments. Throughout its life, the NPP has provided access to traditional newborn stem cell transplant therapies to hundreds of families and connected hundreds more to innovative regenerative medicine clinical trials.
"Generate is committed to increasing access to regenerative medicine therapies so that families who might need these treatments can more easily gain access to them," commented Dr. Jaime Shamonki, Chief Medical Officer at Generate. "Having more than 10,000 families enrolled through the NPP — in addition to the thousands enrolled in similar programs at CBR and across the whole Generate family of companies — is a significant milestone."
Newborn stem cells consist of all stem cell types that are contained within the infant's preserved umbilical cord, including hematopoietic stem cells from cord blood and mesenchymal stem cells from cord tissue. Both kinds of stem cells are being researched for myriad treatment applications from transplant therapies to regenerative medicine. In addition to the NPP, Generate offers many programs aimed at increasing awareness of these treatments, such as the Family Health Registry, which is connecting 200,000 families to active stem cell clinical trials.
"Stem cells play an important role throughout our lives," commented Dr. Lance Holemon, a Phoenix-based obstetrician/gynecologist, whose grandchildren have banked newborn stem cells with CBR. "They can be recruited to help repair damaged tissue and are vital to the natural turnover of various tissues in our body, such as blood. When you preserve them at birth and later reintroduce them into the body, they can stimulate the body to heal itself in multiple ways, which is useful for a large number of degenerative or inflammatory-mediated diseases. For this reason, I like to compare saving newborn stem cells to investing in a child's future health."
Sickle Cell Patient to Stem Cell Advocate: Carol Mulumba's Story
Through the NPP, Generate has had the honor of serving many children and families by providing newborn stem cell preservation. One such person is Carol Mulumba, who was diagnosed with sickle cell disease shortly after her birth.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited condition that causes the red blood cells to become hard, sticky, and crescent shaped. The cells die early, clogging the blood vessels and causing pain and other serious issues. Nearly 300,000 people are diagnosed with a variant of sickle cell disease every year, and many people afflicted with the severe forms of this disease die before they reach forty years old.
When Carol was five, her condition worsened and her doctor suggested that the family explore newborn stem cell transplants, especially since they qualified for the NPP. Carol's younger brother was born soon after, and his umbilical cord was preserved through CBR.
In 2008, Carol received transplant therapy with the stem cells contained within her brother's cord. Nearly 13 years later, she is a healthy and ambitious young woman pursuing a degree in microbiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has also co-founded the Uganda-American Sickle Cell Rescue Fund, which aims to raise awareness of sickle cell disease, while erasing the negative stigma surrounding the illness in Uganda, Carol's native country. She has chronicled her journey in her book, "I Am a Sickle Cell Survivor: Ten Years and Still Counting."
To hear more about Carol's story, watch the video at https://blog.cordblood.com/2021/07/from-sickle-cell-patient-to-microbiology-major/
For more information on the NPP, visit https://www.cordblood.com/benefits-cord-blood/free-cord-blood-banking
About Generate Life Sciences
Generate Life Sciences™ is a global life sciences company helping families setting out to grow and protect their future, through guidance anchored in scientific advancements and services ranging from preconception into adulthood. Our longstanding brands — which include CBR® (Cord Blood Registry®), Insception Lifebank, Cells for Life, Cell Care, California Cryobank™, Donor Egg Bank USA™, NW Cryobank™, ReadyGen™, Kitazato USA™, and Donor Application™ — are pioneering leaders that have helped nearly one million families through reproductive, newborn stem cell, genetic screening, medical device, and healthcare technology services. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Generate operates facilities spanning from the United States and Canada to Australia, alongside frozen donor gamete distribution to more than 40 countries. Generate is a portfolio company of GI Partners, a private investment firm based in San Francisco.
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SOURCE Generate Life Sciences
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