Cord Blood Bank Adopts ThermoGenesis BioArchive Cryopreservation System

The company has received an initial order for its BioArchive® System from a new public cord blood bank that will begin operations in Canada in early 2013.

Canadian Blood Services, a national charitable organization that manages the supply of blood and blood products in all Canadian provinces and territories outside of Quebec, will begin collecting and storing umbilical cord blood stem cells in Ottawa, Ontario under its OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, effective April 1, 2013. Following the opening of this initial location, the organization plans to add three additional collection sites in Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Edmonton, Alberta, as well as a second storage facility in Edmonton in 2014. This will represent the first national public cord blood bank in Canada.

"We are very pleased to be working with Canadian Blood Services as they begin this highly worthwhile effort that will benefit all Canadians. The BioArchive has been the leading-edge technology for cord blood banks throughout the world for many years and we look forward to assisting in the roll out of this major program in Canada," said J. Melville Engle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ThermoGenesis.

"Given the growing use of stem cells to treat a wide variety of diseases, the creation of a national, public umbilical cord blood bank represents a much needed national healthcare resource that will provide life-saving treatments. The BioArchive represents best-in-class technology for the preservation and storage of stem cells from cord blood and it will be an integral part of our facilities' infrastructure," said Ian Mumford, Chief Operating Officer of Canadian Blood Services.