ViaCell and CHORI Expand Sibling Cord Blood Donor Program

ViaCell, Inc. and Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) have announced an agreement to combine their efforts in the area of directed transplants of sibling donor cord blood.

The combined program brings together CHORI's nation-wide program and transplant experience with the high quality processing and customer service offered by ViaCord^®, ViaCell's product offering for the preservation and storage of cord blood for related use.

The CHORI/ViaCord sibling transplant program offers umbilical cord blood preservation services to expectant parents who have a child in need of a transplant for a disease currently treatable with cord blood stem cells.

CHORI and ViaCord's combined experience includes nearly 80 related cord blood transplants.

Under the agreement, ViaCell will manage the combined program and process and store new cord blood units collected for transplant under the sibling donor program at ViaCord's Processing Laboratory.

ViaCell will also have responsibility for releasing cord blood units called for transplant and assist families through the process.

CHORI will continue to educate the transplant community on the directed transplant program and the importance of cord blood as well as monitor and evaluate the program.

"The combined transplants of CHORI and ViaCord establish us as a leading provider of related cord blood stem cells for directed transplantation," stated Mary T. Thistle, Senior Vice President, Business Development, ViaCell Reproductive Health.

"I believe that through this partnership and working with the entire team at CHORI, led by Dr. Bertram Lubin and Dr. Mark Walters, we have the ability to expand our educational program to reach a broader range of physicians who treat patients who may benefit from cord blood stem cells."

"I am delighted that together with ViaCell we have the opportunity to expand the sibling cord blood program to more patients," said Dr. Bertram H. Lubin, Director of Medical Research at CHORI.

"After thorough due diligence in assessing the field, I am confident that ViaCell processes cells in the highest quality manner, suitable for transplantation."