For almost 40 years, cord blood transplants have been used in the treatment of more than 80 different life-threatening diseases, most notably leukemia and lymphoma. In recent years, transplant doctors and researchers have pushed cord blood well beyond traditional transplant. In particular, there has been an interest in further refining the cord blood transplant process through various manipulations and combinations so as to better respond to a particular patient's needs and to ultimately expand access and improve outcomes. Dr. van Besien has been a leading figure in this research.

For this exclusive webinar, we have asked Dr. van Besien to tell us about the use of cord blood for his transplant patients and to discuss its advantages/disadvantages when compared to other stem cell sources. In addition, Dr. van Besien will discuss his research regarding the innovation of haplo-cord transplants and how this new process could help expand access and improve outcomes for certain high risk patients. In particular, he will discuss the use of cord blood in the treatment of HIV (namely the New York Patient) and in the mangement of hematological malignancies.

Important topics Dr. van Besien will cover include:

• The role of donor choice in transplant outcomes.
• The potential advantages of umbilical cord blood in disease control.
• The role umbilical cord blood can play in transplants for adults.
• Important research on HIV (New York Patient) and umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants.

SHARE THE SCIENCE
with
Dr. Koen van Besien
Blood and Marrow Transplant Division Chief,
Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio
 
"The Enduring Promise of Cord Blood" 
Free webinar.  Open to the public.
​
Wednesday, March 29th 2pm US Eastern Time / 11am US Pacific Time

RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE
via the Share the Science Archive

Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in children often requires a stem cell transplant. Doctors often hope to find a matched sibling for the pediatric patient in need of a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). However, when a matched sibling cannot be identified doctors turn to other sources of stem cells from bone marrow and/or cord blood. At this point, doctors will search for matches from possible donors and then begin a delicate decision making process to choose the best stem cell source for their patient. But, what is the "best source" of stem cells? What factors must the transplant team consider?

Relapse and Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD) are both potential risks for pediatric patients post transplant. Both can be debilitating or life-threatening to the child.  Transplant teams work daily to balance these risks with the risk of the cancer itself. Multi-center studies provide these medical teams with much needed observations from real world use of various stem cell sources in transplant. Analysis of these observations is critical to the fight against cancer and efforts to find a cure. 

For this reason, we are very pleased to welcome Dr. Heather Stefanski from NMDP BeTheMatch who will discuss in detail a recent multi-center study comparing stem cell sources. Presenting data from "The influence of stem cell source on transplant outcomes for pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia" (published by Blood Advances), Dr. Stefanski will review outcomes of more than 300 patients receiving stem cell transplants from cord blood, matched unrelated donors, sibling donors and more. She will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and show the overall conclusions of this multi-center study.

Join us on February 28th for this fascinating, in-depth discussion led by a recognized expert in the field of stem cell transplants, Dr. Heather Stefanski. Free and open to all, this webinar is highly recommended for healthcare professionals, transplant teams and those working in cancer research. Likewise, we encourage OBGYNs, nurses, midwives and others who work with expectant parents to watch this webinar so that they can learn how cord blood stem cells are used on a daily basis in the treatment leukemia, particularly in children. 

SHARE THE SCIENCE
with
Dr. Heather Stefanski
Senior Vice President of Medical Services
for Be The Match / National Marrow Donor Program
 
"The Influence of Umbilical Cord Blood on
Treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia" 
Free webinar.  Open to the public.
​
Tuesday, February 28th 2pm US Eastern Time / 11am US Pacific Time

View the recording now in the Share the Science Archive.
​

Key to NMDP Be The Match's success is education! In addition to the webinar session with Dr. Stefanski, the cord blood team at NMDP Be The Match has shared numerous resources expanding on the topic of cord blood and how it is matched to patients in need: 

• Ebook - Cord Blood Transplant: https://network.bethematchclinical.org/transplant-centers/cord-blood-transplant/ 
• Cord Blood Practice Guidelines: https://network.bethematchclinical.org/transplant-centers/cord-blood-practice-guidelines/ 
• Cord Blood Consultation:  https://network.bethematchclinical.org/transplant-centers/search-and-testing/search-services/cord-blood-consultation/ 
• HCT Graft Source Selection - Cord Blood:  https://network.bethematchclinical.org/education/education-catalog/hct-graft-source-selection--cord-blood/ 
• Webinar on Graft Source Selection:  https://www2.network.bethematchclinical.org/l/566592/2021-04-06/hz32mn?_ga=2.161300285.1078025001.1686580602-284608465

​Save the Cord Foundation and WellSky are proud to welcome Dr. Atul Malhotra and Dr. Lindsay Zhou as our featured speakers for the next edition of Share the Science on Wednesday, August 17th, 2022 at 5pm US Eastern Time / 4pm US Central Time. Join us to hear Dr. Malhotra and Dr. Zhou discuss their research on the potential use of cord blood in cell therapy to treat brain injury in preterm infants.

RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE (watch via the Share the Science archive)

​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.

Brain injury continues to be a severe complication as a result of of preterm birth.  In response, prevention and treatment of brain injury in neonates remains a key area of interest for researchers exploring the potential of umbilical cord blood and cord blood-derived cell therapies. In particular, umbilical cord blood-derived cells are being continuously evaluated for their neuroprotective and neuroreparative properties in preclinical and clinical studies. Numerous clinical trials have suggested that cord blood has the potential to reduce apoptosis, inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress in the brain.

For this edition of Share the Science, we are pleased to welcome both Dr. Atul Malhotra and Dr. Lindsay Zhou from Monash University who will discuss the potential of cord blood in the treatment of brain injury. In particular, they will discuss their own research in this area and a study to test the feasibility of collection and isolation of sufficient UCBCs from cord blood, and the safety of intravenous administration of autologous UCBCs in extremely preterm infants suffering from brain injury during the neonatal period. 

Join us for this fascinating discussion with Dr. Atul Malhotra and Dr. Lindsay Zhou. 
​