What would you do?

You are a doctor. A cancer patient comes to you and you advise a stem cell transplant. This news brings hope and nervousness to you both. Both of you know that it can be impossible sometimes to find a bone marrow stem cell donor who meets all of the matching criteria and is available/willing to help. But, wait. . . why limit yourself to using bone marrow stem cells? Public stem cell registries around the world can also provide access to cord blood stem cells. They are easier to match and readily available. A cord blood transplant could be a wonderful solution for your patient. But, don't take our word for it. Let the science guide you. Dr. Milano will give you the facts you need.

Does cord blood have advantages?

It has been decades since the first cord blood transplant. Since that milestone moment in 1988, the medical establishment has come to recognize cord blood as a viable source of stem cells. Currently, there are over 80 different life-threatening diseases for which cord blood is used as treatment. Included on this list of diseases are many blood cancers, leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia. Yet, for many doctors and transplant centers, the use of cord blood as a source of stem cells is often seen as a last resort. Should it be? Is it really a last resort or is it a better choice? The answer undoubtedly depends on many factors.

Dr. Filippo Milano is a world-renowned stem cell transplant expert specializing in cord blood transplants. For years, he has helped cancer patients via his role at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center or "The Hutch," as it is often called.  As the Associate Director of the Cord Blood Transplantation program at "The Hutch," Dr. Milano has been particularly focused on ways to increase the number of patients eligible for a cord blood transplant via improved clinical practices. His work has been focused on making improvements that would ultimately lead to better clinical outcomes for cord blood recipients and translate to a better quality of life post-transplant.

SHARE THE SCIENCE

with

Dr. Filippo Milano

from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

"Clinical Outcomes for Cord Blood Transplants"

Free webinar. Open to the public. 
​
Thursday, March 28th, 2019  - 11am Central Time

About the Speaker

In 2016, Dr. Milano and his colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) published the results of their ground-breaking study, "Cord-Blood Transplantation in Patients with Minimal Residual Disease" in the New England Journal of Medicine.  The study concluded ". . . the probability of overall survival after receipt of a transplant from a cord-blood donor was at least as favorable as that after receipt of a transplant from an HLA-matched unrelated donor and was significantly higher than the probability after receipt of a transplant from an HLA-mismatched unrelated donor. Furthermore, the probability of relapse was lower in the cord-blood group than in either of the other groups." These results brought hope to many.

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Dr. Milano is an Assistant Member of the Clinical Research Division, and Associate Director Cord Blood Transplantation Cord Blood Program. He is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington.

Dr. Milano received his MD (2001) and his PhD in Medicine (2010) from the University “La Sapienza” Rome.

In 2005, the US government recognized the need for a federal cord blood donation program. This moment marked a major advancement in stem cell therapies as the government sought to fulfill a need and better standardize the cord blood banking requirements. At the time, the government recognized a need for a centralized public stem cell registry which could provide an ethnically diverse and high-quality source of stem cells easily accessible for patients in need. This was the beginning of the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI), operated by the National Marrow Donor Program / Be The Match.

​As we know, cord blood has been used for many years to treat patients suffering from life-threatening diseases including leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia. In fact, donated cord blood is recognized as a possible treatment for over 80 different diseases. ​Cord blood also holds great promise in the field of regenerative medicine for autism, spinal cord injury, hearing loss and more.

About the Speaker

Kandice Kapinos is a health and labor economist at the RAND Corporation. Her research broadly focuses on health economics, health services research and the economics of prevention, particularly for vulnerable populations. She is currently leading a study on access to care in California Workers’ Compensation system and contributing to two studies on telehealth and one on disability among the self-employed. Recently she has completed several child and maternal health studies, including studies of peer and environmental effects in adolescent obesity and pregnancy; effects of perinatal maternal weight trajectories on maternal and child health outcomes, the effects of Cesarean deliveries on maternal health, and the cord blood industry. She also has extensive experience with health care reform and health policy evaluation studies across a wide range of health topics. Much of this work has been focused in the area of policies aimed at improving preventive health utilization She has advanced applied econometric and survey methodological skills.

She previously worked at the University of Michigan, the US Census Bureau and Abt Associates. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, a VA Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Center of Excellence. Kapinos received her Ph.D. in labor economics/human resources from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.         

Odds are that you know someone who has been diagnosed as autistic or suspects such a diagnosis. The person may be a child, adolescent or adult. In 2016, the Center for Disease Control - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network estimated that autism was diagnosed in 1 of every 68 births. In fact, in that same report, they also warned that this number has been on the rise. For those with severe autism, medicine has not provided many answers. But, this could be changing thanks to cord blood stem cells. . . 

Save the Cord Foundation and WellSky are proud to welcome Michael G. Chez, M.D. for our next edition of Share the Science on December 12th, 2018. 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.

During his presentation for Share the Science, Dr. Chez present a broad overview of past and current clinical trials applying stem cell therapy to autism spectrum disorders, as well as future therapeutic opportunities. He will explain the theories behind why stem cell therapy may be useful in autism treatment options. He will discuss recent trials using autologous umbilical cord and other stem cell sourced treatments, as well as the results of those trials. He will also look a the risks and safety of, and the limitations found to date in applying, stem cell therapy. ​

REGISTER now to join us for this one-to-one chat with Dr. Chez. Ask your questions directly to him and get the information you need. 

SHARE THE SCIENCE

with Dr. Michael Chez
​
"Stem Cell Therapy in Autism: Experience and Outcomes"
​
Wednesday, December 12, 2018 | 11:00 AM CS

Free online event. Open to the public. Registration required.

​RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE

About the Speaker

​Dr. Chez is a board-certified child neurologist and fellowship-trained pediatric epileptologist who has pioneered research in epilepsy treatment and epilepsy surgery monitoring, and the use of alternative therapies to treat autism. 

Dr. Chez received his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine and served his internship and residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was awarded a fellowship in child neurology at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, and a fellowship in epilepsy at Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center. Dr. Chez has been certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, with special competence in child neurology. 

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​We wish to thank Dr. Michael Chez for volunteering his time to speak on
Share the Science and sharing his valuable insight on cord blood stem cell therapies.
We also wish to thank our generous sponsor and partner for this event,
WellSky Health, who continue to support cord blood
education through our “Share the Science” series.