6th Annual Arizona Cord Blood Conference: Bridging the Gap

We are proud to announce the 6th Annual Arizona Cord Blood Conference: Bridging the Gap. Join us for this free virtual conference on April 22nd, 2021 (9am-1pm MST) presented by the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program. RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE (until August 30th for registered attendees).

It has been a little over a year since Covid-19 started spreading around the world, disrupting life as we know it.  While lockdowns have brought life to a standstill in some regions, healthcare professionals have pushed forward with urgent, life-saving treatments for cancer patients in need of stem cell transplants.  Cord blood has been an important part of this story, especially for those patients whose bone marrow donor may no longer be available. In these situations, cord blood has been bridging the gap. 

In reality, cord blood has helped to bridge the gap between stem cell donors and patients for well over 30 years. Today, the medical community recognizes cord blood for its unique qualities: easier to match than bone marrow, available off-the-shelf in just days, collected easily, . . . the advantages are numerous. 

Cord blood is also key to increasing diversity of stem cell donors on public registries, like the Arizona Public Cord Blood program. Thanks to the fact cord blood donation is free and easily done after the birth of a child, donation programs can be targetted in regions where there may be a larger population of ethnic minorities. By increasing diversity on public stem cell registries (such as the NMDP BeTheMatch registry), more transplant matches can be found for patients in need. Cord blood allows us to bridge the gap between a donor and a patient in need. ​

Watch the recording: 6th Annual Arizona Public Cord Blood Program

This year's Arizona Cord Blood Conference will focus on cord blood's ability to "Bridge the Gap" in various ways. We are pleased to announce the following cord blood experts and former transplant patients who will speak about cord blood's use as a valuable source of stem cells:

Moshe Israeli, PhD – Bridging the Gaps of Diversity in Cord Blood Transplant 

Kate Girard, RN MSN – Bridging the Gap Between Delayed Cord Clamping and Cord Blood Collection 

Sairah Ahmed, MD – Bridging the Gap in Lymphoma Treatment with Cord Blood 

Karen Ballen, MD – Bridging the Gap in Healthcare Disparities with Cord Blood 

Leland Metheny, MD – Bringing Transplant Physicians Over the Bridge to Cord Blood Transplant 

Donna Regan, MT (ACSB) SBB – Bridging the Gap Between Doctors and Cord Blood Transplant 

George Cannette – Cancer Survivor and Cord Blood Transplant Recipient

David Hall, MD – Cancer Survivor and Cord Blood Transplant Recipient, retired OBGYN, member of the BTM Institutional Review Board


Registration is now open: www.arizonapubliccordbloodprogram.org 
​Free, online event. Open to the public. Highly recommended for doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals. 

For students interested in possible STEM careers, this conference will provide a unique opportunity to learn directly from those in the cord blood industry and discover new opportunities that are emerging thanks to exciting research and current uses for cord blood stem cells.

​For health professionals, you will have the opportunity to meet with leading scientists in this field and understand how your practice could immediately have impact or benefit from cord blood collections. 
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For hospital administrators and policy makers, this conference will be key to better understanding the current status of the cord blood industry and how we can work together to improve it.

This event is presented by
the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program
in collaboration with
the Arizona Department of Health Services (Arizona Biomedical Research Center),
Dignity Health, Tucson Medical Center, Valleywise Health and Save the Cord Foundation.