Monmouth Medical Center, In Partnership With LifebankUSA, Launches Program For Placental And Cord Blood Stem Cell Banking

Long Branch, NJ - Monmouth Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, today announced that its Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has established a partnership with LifebankUSA, a New Jersey-based stem cell banking service, to establish the Monmouth Medical Center-LifebankUSA Placenta·Cord Banking Program. The new program, south Jersey's first hospital affiliated program for banking both placenta-derived and cord blood stem cells, will educate expectant parents regarding stem cell banking services when giving birth at the Medical Center.

"We are pleased to have partnered with LifebankUSA to offer this service for our families who are considering storing their newborn's stem cells," Robert A. Graebe, MD, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Monmouth Medical Center, which handles more than 4,200 deliveries a year. "This initiative is part of our ongoing effort to foster long-term health and provide families with the best and latest in healthcare services."

"Our new program with Monmouth Medical Center will provide families the ability to preserve the most stem cells possible," said Robert Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of LifebankUSA. "Parents can significantly increase the number of stem cells collected when they choose to bank both cord blood and placental stem cells. As a locally-based company, LifebankUSA is especially pleased to have established a formal relationship with an acclaimed New Jersey medical center."

LifebankUSA, based in Cedar Knolls, N.J., and a division of Summit-based Celgene Corporation, is an AABB-accredited, ISO-certified stem cell banking service. Its stem cell processing and storage facilities are located less than one hour from Monmouth Medical Center.

Why Parents Save Cord Blood and Placental Stem Cells
Currently, stem cells can be used in treating approximately 80 different diseases, including various cancers, and to date more than 7,000 patients have received transplants of newborn stem cells collected following childbirth. Families have one opportunity to collect and preserve their baby's umbilical cord blood and placental stem cells. If the cord blood and placenta are not collected at birth and preserved, these stem cells are lost forever.

Privately-banked stem cells provide babies with a perfect match for future stem cell transplants and confer a greater likelihood for a suitable match for family members than stem cells from a public registry.

Placenta·Cord banking, pioneered by LifebankUSA, is simple and noninvasive. Delivery-room procedures take only about five minutes and pose absolutely no risk to either the mother or her newborn.

Following are some guidelines for expectant families considering cord blood and placental stem cell banking:

• Parents should give particular consideration to cord blood and placental stem cell storage if an older sibling has leukemia, lymphoma, other cancers, sickle cell disease, thalassemia or other transplant-treatable diseases.
  
• Speak with an obstetrician prior to delivery to discuss the procedure for umbilical cord blood and placental stem cell preservation.
  
• Parents can visit LifebankUSA website for more information.

SOURCE: Monmouth Medical Center