News - Australian Stem Cell HealthCare (ASCH) Cellsense and Biocell

The Value of Storing Your Baby's Cord Blood

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -1000

The Value of Storing Your Baby's Cord Blood

ABC 7.30 Report - Video Clip

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Featuring ASCH's Associate Professor Mark Kirkland

Courtesy of ABC 7.30 Report

Cord Blood Banks Become Big Business
Broadcast: 12/04/2010
Reporter: Danielle Parry

Free Information Nights

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Throughout the year ASCH holds a number of Free Information Nights about Cord Blood Banking, including the latest developments in stem cell research and future plans for clinical trials.

Our Information Nights include a presentation and question and answer session with the company's Medical Director.

Valuable information is distributed and members of our team are on-hand to answer any questions you may have.

Cord Blood Banking Forum for Health Care Professionals
Frankston Victoria

Date: Tue 10 August, 2010
Time: 7.00pm - 9.00pm
Venue: Monash University, Peninsula Campus, Frankston
RSVP: Mon 2 August. 2010
Download brochure

How to Register

If you would like to attend our Frankston Forum

Download our brochure and fax the completed registration form to 03 9551 2933 or
Contact our office on 1800 071 075 or info@cellsense.com.au.

Future Information Nights

If you would like to be notified about future Information Nights please email us at info@cellsense.com.au

Baby Expos

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Meet us at these Expos in 2010

The Baby and Toddler Show - Sydney

Friday 01 to Sunday 03 October, 2010
Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, SYDNEY

PBC - Melbourne

Friday 22 to Sunday 24 October, 2010
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank, MELBOURNE

Body & Soul: Sunday Herald Sun

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -1000

Should you Store Your Baby's Cord Blood?

It's weird-looking, slimy and usually ends up in the bin. And amid the excitement of meeting their newborn baby, many parents barely notice the umbilical cord before its severed, and disposed of as medical waste........By Clair Weaver Download pdf

Public Donations Vs Private Collection

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -1000

Why participate?

Private: Privately banking your newborn's stem cells guarantees that those cells will be available for your child in the event of potentially life threatening diseases. Collection of your baby's cord blood for their own use is referred to as autologous collection and the cells are, of course, a perfect match for your child. The chance that your child's cord blood will be successfully stored is over 95%.

Public: Public donations of stem cells are used for people needing a suitable stem cell match. This is referred to as allogeneic collection for general public usage, specifically for the treatment of bone marrow diseases such as leukaemia. Only a small proportion of samples donated to public banks will ultimately be stored.

What is the benefit of using my child's stem cells?

Private: The collected and stored stem cells are a 100% tissue match to the child it was collected from. Consequently, there are NO complications due to Graft Vs Host disease (GVHD). This also means that these cells may be used in clinical applications without the problems of mismatch.

Public: Chronic GVHD affects more than 55% of matched unrelated donor transplant recipients and about 80% of mismatched recipients. GVHD increases therapy failure and can be life threatening.

Important Message from Australian Stem Cell HealthCare CEO, Peter Littlewood

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -1000

Stem Cell therapies show enormous promise for the treatment of a range of diseases in the future, and there is no doubt that cord blood is an ideal source of those stem cells.

However, such therapies, as with all medical advances, need to be investigated thoroughly and under strict scientific and ethical controls and guidelines. One of the biggest dangers in the field is that unscrupulous practitioners will take advantage of vulnerable patients, and offer "stem cell therapies" that are unproven, using "stem cells" from undefined sources that have not been characterized or proven to be safe. Recent reports highlight the dangers of such "unregulated stem cell therapies", with the danger of significant side effects in addition to the substantial costs involved.

Australia leads the world in the regulatory environment for new medical advances. The cornerstones of this approach are:

High quality of therapeutic agents; and
Proven efficacy OR controlled trials to demonstrate efficacy

In line with this philosophy, Australian Stem Cell HealthCare (ASCH) is working with leading academic and clinical bodies in Australia to develop clinical trials to explore the use of cord blood in a range of diseases, and ASCH will continue to endeavor to be at the forefront of the latest developments in stem cell technologies. However, this desire to explore the therapeutic potential of stem cells, and of cord blood in particular, should never be at the expense of scientific rigor, and should not prey upon the vulnerabilities of sick patients.

Over coming months, we will be preparing ethical protocols and announcing proposals for world-first clinical intervention trials in major diseases using cord blood. These trials will be undertaken only after full ethical review and under strict scientific and regulatory control. Only by doing so can the full potential of cord blood cells be fully measured and understood, so that in the future all patients will be able to receive cord blood therapies that are proven and reliable.

Although we strongly believe in the ultimate potential of stem cell therapies, and of cord blood in particular, stem cells are not a "silver bullet" that can cure any and all diseases. We do not recommend that patients seek "miracle cures" from unregulated overseas clinics, whose activities can only serve to undermine those who seek to advance the cause of stem cell therapeutics within ethical and appropriately regulated frameworks.

For more information about current clinical trials using cord blood, we recommend that you visit the USA Parents Guide to Cord Blood Foundations website below.

By clicking the link below you will be leaving the ASCH website. Please note:

The information provided on external sites may not comply with Australian regulations.
Stem cell treatments, clinical trials and laboratory studies which may be referred to in these external sites may not be approved for use in Australia. Such treatments are not generally available in Australia and may never be approved for use by the relevant regulatory authorities in Australia.

http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/usa/medical/autocbt.shtml

Peter Littlewood
CEO

ASCH Releases Australia's First Private Cord Blood Sample for Therapeutic Use

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -1000

Editorial Note: Names have been changed to protect the privacy of all involved in this true story. This story is a testament to other similar stories that are emerging globally and ASCH will continue to keep parents and the health care community informed as part of the company's education and awareness programme.

While Jenni and her husband Matt were expecting their first child, they became aware of the potential benefit of collecting and banking Umbilical Cord Blood and the use of the stem cells found in cord blood to treat certain blood disorders such as leukaemia.

Their Obstetrician was supportive of collecting the umbilical cord blood, so they arranged for Cellsense, now part of Australian Stem Cell HealthCare (ASCH), to collect, process and store their baby's cord blood.

It never occurred to Jenni and Matt that the cells would be required so soon.

When their son, Luca, was born he was bright, happy, rarely complained but was difficult to settle.

But it wasn't until Luca was two years old that his mum and dad took him to the doctors after a persistent backache failed to get better. Luckily it was the beginning of a long weekend, and their GP did not want to wait for an X-ray until the following week so Luca was sent off to a leading hospital in Melbourne. "That's when life for us changed," Jenni recalls.

Luca was diagnosed with an uncommon form of cancer. His oncologist informed Luca's parents that he was born with the tumour and that this may have been the cause of his early difficulties in settling.

Luca was immediately started on an intense program of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the tumour responded, decreasing in size. But it was only a reprieve and three months later, following another complaint about a pain, an MRI scan revealed the tumour was back and it was more aggressive.

It was decided that Luca should undergo an operation that would, hopefully, remove the tumour. By this time Luca was an old hand at hospital life. A mature and articulate boy, with a blinding smile, Luca had not only charmed hospital staff, but he was also directing them as to how to manage his medication, such as how much chocolate flavouring (his favourite) should be put on the anaesthetic mask.

What Luca, his parents and the staff could not do was protect him from the effects of the chemotherapy. This treatment is designed to kill off the cancer cells, but in doing so the healthy cells, and in particular, immune cells that protect the body, also were destroyed. Without these healthy immune cells, Luca could succumb to the slightest infections such as a cold.

However, Luca had what many other sick children do not have, namely, his own supply of his healthy cord blood cells that were collected at birth from his umbilical cord and cryogenically stored (i.e. stored at very low temperatures). These cord blood cells were infused back into Luca after the final high-dose chemotherapy treatment. These cells, which were initially stored in the hope that Luca might never have to use them in his lifetime, became critical in keeping Luca healthy enough to fight his disease.

Jenni and Matt both agree, they never thought that for the 18 years their son's cord blood cells would be stored, the family would ever need these cells. "Yet here we are with Luca at the age of three and the banking of his cells has saved him from the pain and an extra high dose of chemotherapy that would have been required if the cells were donated from a third party, rather than his own stored cells".

Jenni and Matt are keen to make sure that other parents know of the possibility of banking their children's cord blood at birth. "If we hadn't been aware that cord blood banking was possible, or our Obstetrician hadn't been so positive about cord blood banking, we would be faced with not only dealing with the cancer, but with Luca dealing with a difficult recovery from his treatment".

Channel 10 - 9am with David and Kim - Video Clip

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -1000

Featuring ASCH''s Associate Professor Mark Kirkland

Courtesy of Channel 10 - 9am with David and Kim
Broadcast: 24/08/2009

News - Australian Stem Cell HealthCare (ASCH) Cellsense and Biocell

The Value of Storing Your Baby's Cord Blood

ABC 7.30 Report - Video Clip

Free Information Nights

Cord Blood Banking Forum for Health Care ProfessionalsFrankston Victoria

How to Register

Future Information Nights

Baby Expos

Meet us at these Expos in 2010

The Baby and Toddler Show - Sydney Friday 01 to Sunday 03 October, 2010Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, SYDNEY PBC - Melbourne Friday 22 to Sunday 24 October, 2010Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank, MELBOURNE

The Baby and Toddler Show - Sydney

PBC - Melbourne

Body & Soul: Sunday Herald Sun

Public Donations Vs Private Collection

Important Message from Australian Stem Cell HealthCare CEO, Peter Littlewood

ASCH Releases Australia's First Private Cord Blood Sample for Therapeutic Use

Channel 10 - 9am with David and Kim - Video Clip

Cord Blood Banking Forum for Health Care Professionals
Frankston Victoria

The Baby and Toddler Show - Sydney

Friday 01 to Sunday 03 October, 2010
Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, SYDNEY

PBC - Melbourne

Friday 22 to Sunday 24 October, 2010
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank, MELBOURNE