Cord Blood Connect 2023 

The 2023 Cord Blood Connect International Congress was held September 8-10 in Miami, Florida. Cord Blood Connect is the premier scientific and educational congress connecting investigators, clinicians, and banking service providers to share and learn about the latest advances in the science of newborn stem cells. In addition to sharing advancements in cord blood transplantation and cell therapy applications, the meeting focused on the importance of collaboration as a means of overcoming challenges in the field of newborn stem cells and improving access to cord blood on a global scale. CBR's VP of Commercial Development, Heather Brown, served as Vice Chair of the Technology and Education Committee for the Cord Blood Association in planning the 2023 meeting. CBR^® is proud to have been the platinum sponsor for the 2023 Cord Blood Connect International Congress.

“The Future of Cord Blood Banking”

Peter Bawin, Global VP of Commercial Life Sciences for CBR by CooperSurgical^® and Cord Blood Association board member, moderated a panel discussion in which speakers highlighted the need for better cord blood education for the public and among healthcare providers. There is great potential within the industry to facilitate more unit releases for regenerative medicine applications while overcoming regulatory and financial challenges, and the cord blood community stands to benefit significantly from partnerships to establish standard protocols. In addition to new opportunities for therapeutics, the coming years have the potential to bring such advancements as increased applications for smaller cord blood units and more treatment options for the aging cord blood donor population.

CBR presents data from the Newborn Possibilities Program^® Designated Treatment Protocol

CBR presented data on enrollments and unit releases pertaining to its medical needs program, the Newborn Possibilities Program®. The analysis demonstrated that over a 24-year period, the program has effectively identified families with a higher likelihood of utilizing their cord blood units for a transplant or experimental infusion.¹ The CBR Newborn Possibilities Program offers no-cost processing and 5 years of storage to families with a qualifying medical need. Learn more about identifying which of your patients might qualify.

Meta-analysis of cerebral palsy cord blood studies shows dose-dependent improvement in gross motor skills

Researchers presented results of a meta-analysis investigating the use of cord blood for treating gross motor function in patients with cerebral palsy. Data from eleven studies, including both autologous and allogeneic cord blood infusions, showed a statistically significant improvement in gross motor skills and demonstrated a dose-dependent benefit. Factors such as age at infusion, severity of disease, and disease etiology require further elucidation and may reveal increased efficacy for some subgroups.²

Cord blood as an optimal donor source for allogenic transplantation

Thirty-five years after its inception, cord blood transplantation continues to be optimized, as shown by increases in overall and disease-free survival rates.³ The timely accessibility and wide availability of cord blood has established this cell source as ideal for high-risk leukemia as well as for non-malignant conditions such as metabolic disease and immune deficiencies^4,5, Additionally, cord blood has been demonstrated to be an ideal cell source for the relapsed pediatric population, exhibiting excellent survival rates and robust engraftment.⁴ Better collaboration within the cord blood community may further improve the process of donor selection and further expedite time to treatment. Through enhanced intercommunication within the cord blood community, the field stands to benefit from optimization of practices, promotion of adherence to established guidelines, shared experiential learning, novel research of new cell products, and an overall increase in uses.

Disparities in access to optimal cord blood donors

Among non-Caucasian patients in need of stem cell transplantation, particularly for Black patients and non-Black Hispanic patients, there continues to be limited availability to HLA-matched donor stem cell sources. This disparity leads to delayed treatment and poorer outcomes.⁶ It demonstrates a need for collaboration among advocates from diverse communities to address gaps among donor pools and to facilitate increased access to alternative donor cell sources such as cord blood.

Cord blood units preserved for 27 years behave like freshly collected samples

Broxmeyer et al.⁷ (2023) reported an analysis on the viability and function of three 27-year-old cryopreserved cord blood units relative to 3-year-old and freshly collected cord blood samples. The study showed that cord blood units cryopreserved for 27 years retain highly functional hematopoietic stem cells, indicating that duration of cryopreservation alone is not an exclusionary criterion for selection of cord blood units. Continued cryopreservation of older cord blood units could be helpful toward growing and maintaining a large and diverse pool of cord blood donors.

The 2023 Cord Blood Connect International Congress was a salute to the amazing potential of newborn stem cells and was an effective reminder of the importance of collaboration among the cord blood community. Unification of cord blood advocates could facilitate both the advancement of new therapies and the development of standards to improve and enhance current uses. To become a cord blood advocate and get access to resources from the world’s largest and most experienced private newborn stem cell company,⁸ join the CBR Healthcare Provider Network today.