Join us to hear pioneering researcher John Wagner, M.D. as he shares some of his latest work involving potential treatment of autoimmunity and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Infection and relapse are the principal obstacles to successful use of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Prolonged immunodeficiency is a major cause of infection and relapse, particularly in those with high-risk disease, older age, use of in vivo and ex vivo T cell depletion, HLA mismatch, and after the development of acute and chronic GVHD.

Trials have demonstrated that the infusion of umbilical cord blood (UCB) derived regulatory T cells (Tregs) could effectively prevent GVHD. Join Dr. Wagner as he also shares how thymic progenitor cells (Pro-Ts) can repair damaged immune systems, and how UCB can reliably provide large numbers of Pro-Ts suitable for clinical use.

​​Save the Cord Foundation and WellSky are proud to welcome Dr. Camillo Ricordi, as our featured speaker for our next edition of Share the Science on June 10th, 2021 2pm ET / 11am PT. Join us to hear Dr. Ricordi discuss a recent study using cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cell infusions to treat COVID-19 patients suffering from the most severe conditions. RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE.
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Share the Science is a free webinar series focused on the cord blood industry and the latest research in this field.  As always, we invite both health professionals and the general public to join us for this unique online educational series. Learn more about this exciting educational series here.

Dr. Ricordi and his team began to document their ground-breaking study using cord blood-derived MSCs to treat COVID-19 patients beginning in the spring of 2020, at the height of the pandemic. It was a moment of incredible challenges for healthcare professionals around the globe. Everyone was desperate to understand this new, mysterious disease. Cases were increasing exponentially everywhere. News agencies in every country began to count the daily death rates. Many countries decided to lockdown. The new normal was bleak, but doctors and nurses on the front lines were not giving up. They were looking for new ways to treat COVID-19 patients.

Building on a very small study in China, Dr. Ricordi and his team at the University of Miami led the battle against COVID-19 with their innovative study using cord blood-derived MSCs to potentially improve recovery and prevent deaths in the most severely affected patients. The results of this study were very encouraging and have laid the groundwork for further studies using umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell infusions and other similar techniques to potentially treat COVID-19.  

The group published their results in January 2021 in Stem Cells Translational Medicine: 
"Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells for COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome: A double-blind, phase 1/2a, randomized controlled trial"

​Join us on June 10th to hear Dr. Ricordi, the study’s senior author, as he reviews the data and the potential for stem cells to be used more broadly to treat COVID-19 and similar respiratory infections.

Highlights from the study:

• Patient survival at one month was 91% in the stem-cell treated group compared with 42% in the control group.
• More than 80% of the treatment group recovered by day 30, compared to 37% in the control group.
• There were no infusion-related serious side effects.
• The stem cell infusions also clearly inhibited the ‘cytokine storm,’ associated with severe COVID-19.
• A single umbilical cord contains enough mesenchymal stem cells when expanded to provide therapeutic doses for over 10,000 patients. 

Recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) require substantial follow-up care after transplant. Now, data from 1,077 consecutive adult allogeneic HCT recipients at the University of Minnesota Medical School suggest that HCTs involving umbilical cord blood (UCB) had the lowest overall health care burden in the five years after transplant.

The study also looked at HCTs with peripheral blood stem cells and bone marrow. The recipients of UCB had a lower long-term health care burden as measured by the number of:

• Visits
• Laboratory studies
• Medications
• Relative value of units billed

As cell therapy continues to offer hope for a growing number of diseases and conditions, cost remains the biggest obstacle to care. Register now to examine the findings from this research and how it may help more people experience the life-saving benefits of HCTs in the future.