New England Cord Blood Bank starts grants

BOSTON – New England Cord Blood Bank Inc. (NECBB), a global cord blood processing and storage facility, last week launched a grant initiative for expecting parents that will provide $800 to all who enroll in the company’s services – a limited-time offer through April 2009.
“We were getting feedback that cost plays a large factor when expecting parents are making decisions about cord blood storage,” said John Rizza, president of the New England Cryogenics Center Inc., the parent company of NECBB funding the grant initiative. “We hope our efforts ease any financial burden so our clients do not miss the one opportunity they have to bank their child’s cord blood.”
Cord blood can be banked at birth and serve as a resource if, later in life, the child or a family member develops one of numerous diseases. Cord blood is already used to treat more than 80 diseases and conditions, including sickle cell anemia, leukemia and other cancers.
NECBB makes it easy to bank and process cord blood by providing a comprehensive kit to parents. After delivery, the attending physician collects the blood from the umbilical cord and the client ships the collection kit to the NECBB laboratory in Newton, Mass.
The blood is then processed, and viable stem cells are preserved and stored. The cells are kept at the NECBB facility for the family’s use for a yearly fee, preserving cells up to 20 years or longer.
New England Cord Blood Bank Inc. is a division of the New England Cryogenic Center, a privately owned, family-run business working in cryogenics since 1982. The company has been banking cord blood since 1995. For more information, go to www.cordbloodbank.com.