The Arizona Public Cord Blood program is very unique in its structure.

Run by the Arizona Department of Health Services and funded through the State Lottery in Arizona, this public program allows Arizona families to give the gift of life through cord blood donation in participating hospitals. The program is a shining star in the portfolio of public programs provided by the state as it not only functions as a life-saving program, but it provides a dynamic route for cellular therapy innovation, partnerships, education and awareness.

For these reasons, the AZ Public Cord Blood team felt it was time to present the details of this program via an abstract poster at Cord Blood Connect 2​022. By presenting this information at Cord Blood Connect, the team hopes to encourage other states to copy their model and establish their own public cord blood programs.  

In addition, this information has been recently published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine, the official scientific journal of the Cord Blood Association: https://academic.oup.com/stcltm/article/11/Supplement_1/S39/6692668​


The Arizona Public Cord Blood Program:  It is a model that works. Let's all learn from it!  


To learn more about the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program, click here.

To learn more about Cord Blood Connect, click here.

Did you know that public bone marrow registries like BeTheMatch also often register cord blood donations? True!

For decades, doctors have relied on bone marrow donors to provide much needed healthy stem cells for patients in need of a stem cell transplant. 

As the official education partner of the Arizona Public Cord Blood program, we are so proud of Arizona families who have chosen to donate their baby's cord blood following the birthing process. These donations are collected for free at participating Arizona hospitals and, once quality of the collection is confirmed, these units are listed on the public registry at BeTheMatch. 

We and patients around the globe are indebted to these incredible families! Every baby is born a hero thanks to their generosity and the Arizona Public Cord Blood program. 


​
September 17th, 2022 is World Marrow Donor Day.

To celebrate this important day, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to these amazing families and the devoted professionals who run this program. THANK YOU!

Join us in saying thanks on social media:  #WMDD2022    #ThankYouDonor    #WMDD

Learn more about this important awareness day at www.WorldMarrowDonorDay.org

We are proud to announce the 7th Annual Arizona Cord Blood Conference: United by Our Strengths.  Join us for this free Hybrid/In-Person conference on April 7th, 2022 (9am-4:30pm) presented by the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program.

The conference will be in a hybrid format, taking place at the ASU SkySong 3 Conference Center, 1365 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, Arizona. Registration is free for both in-person and virtual attendees. In-person attendees will receive lunch (spaces limited). Register is now open.

Discover the power of cord blood stem cells at the 7th annual Arizona Cord Blood Conference! And celebrate 10 wonderful years of the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program!! Learn how cord blood donations to this program and others like it are used around the globe to treat 80+ life-threatening diseases including many blood cancers, leukemia, lymphoma, thalassemia, sickle cell disease and more. Cord blood is a vital medical resource, especially for those patients whose bone marrow donor may no longer be available due to Covid restrictions. 

In addition, cord blood is proving critical in research in the emerging fields of regenerative medicine, gene therapy and cellular therapy. 

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. 

Join us for an informative day featuring nationally recognized experts in the fi­eld of cord blood clinical practice and research. The conference will contain educational sessions tailored to all levels of interest and knowledge. Health care practitioners, researchers, educators, policy makers, expectant parents, students and the general public are invited.

The conference, which is hosted by the Department of Knowledge Enterprise Arizona State University, Tempe, is being sponsored by the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre's (ABRC), Arizona Public Cord Blood Program, in coordination with the Save the Cord Foundation and four participating area hospitals including Valleywise Health, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center, and Tucson Medical Center.

The conference will start at 8:00 a.m. with registration and breakfast. Welcome addresses will be made by Victor Waddell, Ph.D., Executive Director of the ABRC and Bureau Chief of the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory, and Ms. Jessica Rigler, Assistant Director overseeing the Division of Public Health Preparedness at ADHS, which spans the areas of Epidemiology and Disease Control, Emergency Medical Services, Public Health Statistics, Public Health Emergency Preparedness and the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory.

We are grateful for the assistance of Ms. Kristen Wilt, MSN, RN, Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator for the Arizona Public Cord Blood Program and Cord Blood & Placenta Donation Coordinator with the Tucson Medical Center Women’s & Children’s Services. Ms. Wilt will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for this year's conference.​

​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. 
​
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.