In the decades since Dr. Eliane Gluckman and her team performed the world’s first cord blood transplant in France, the number of applications for this non-controversial source of stem cells have grown dramatically. Today, cord blood is being used to treat over 80 different diseases.  Since 1988, there have been over 35,000 cord blood transplants worldwide. The industry has grown globally to include a dynamic mix of public, private and hybrid cord blood banks. In particular, research using cord blood for regenerative medicine purposes has continued to evolve in amazing ways. Today, it is not unusual for us to talk about cord blood saving someone from cancer or being used to help a young child with cerebral palsy.

Globally, many of the industry’s players work together helping patients in need crossing public / private barriers as well as international borders. The cord blood industry is unique in that it is not selling a drug but rather enabling parents to help their own families or a stranger in need by storing and processing a valuable, natural medical resource — cord blood. However, while the industry is unique it is not immune to standards. In fact, these standards are even more important given the global nature of the industry and stem cells themselves. Quality assurance is compulsory. Understanding how cord blood is going to be used in the near or distant future is vitally important when considering which processes and standards to apply during the collection and storage process.
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The 2-Day “Cord Blood Spotlight” has been designed with these challenges in mind.  The purpose of this meeting is to provide insight on cord blood banking standards and foster a pro-active approach to improving the quality of cord blood banking worldwide. This 2-day event will provide cord blood banks from the globe an opportunity to speak one-on-one with cord blood scientists and transplant physicians to better understand why certain processes are preferred and how banks could potentially increase the number of transplants completed by strengthening quality assurance.

​Recognized as the world’s largest international pre-collegiate science competition, Intel ISEF is sometimes referred to as the “Olympics of Science Fairs” welcoming the brightest STEM students from more than 75 different countries.  This year Save the Cord Foundation is proud to announce that we will be there!! Together with our friends at StemCyte, Inc., we will be bringing cord blood education to the Next Generation of scientists, doctors, nurses and community leaders via this prestigious event.

Each year, millions of students compete worldwide in local and school-sponsored science fairs for an opportunity to showcase their independent research and compete for approximately $4 million in prizes at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF 2017), a program of Society for Science & the Public. Visit the official site here.
Nearly 5000 students, their teachers and mentors from more than 75 different countries attend this event annually. The research presented by students is of the highest calibre.  For example, last year’s Gordon E. Moore Award winner was Han Jie (Austin) Wang, an 18-year-old from Canada who broke new ground with his research: Boosting MFC Biocatalyst Performance: A Novel Gene Identification and Consortia Engineering Approach.

​Intel ISEF 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center:  May 14-19th, 2017
Schools and the general public are welcome on “Intel ISEF Public Day” on May 18th, 2017