Treating sickle cell is often compared with a marathon. For young people suffering from sickle cell, life is focused on treating pain episodes and preventing infections. Blood transfusions and long hospital stays are also common. Strokes can also be a risk and this was the case for Sosa. 

After years of fighting sickle cell anemia, doctors realized Sosa needed more. She needed a stem cell transplant and recommended that she consider participating in a clinical trial at the time. At the ripe age of 12 years old, Sosa underwent an innovative procedure to try to cure her of sickle cell -- a double nicord cord blood transplant.  The procedure worked and she was declared cured.

Join us on Wednesday, April 19th to hear Sosa describe life before, during and after the cord blood transplant process. She will speak in detail regarding: 

1. The experience of being diagnosed with sickle cell anemia.
2. Being identified and selected for a cord blood clinical trial.
3. Navigating the transplant process and the challenges associated.
4. Hearing the words "you are cured of sickle cell anemia".

SHARE THE SCIENCE
with
Sosa Evbuomwan
Double Nicord Cord Blood Transplant Recipient
for Sickle Cell Anemia
 
"Meet Sosa: How a Cord Blood Transplant Cured Sickle Cell" 
Free webinar.  Open to the public.
​
Wednesday, April 19th 5pm US Eastern Time / 2pm US Pacific Time


RECORDING AVAILABLE NOW. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

​Join us for this special edition of Share the Science which will focus on how important collaboration is in the cord blood industry. We will sit down with Dr. David Lin, the Medical Director of Bloodworks Bio & the Public Cord Blood Bank & Dr. Randal Wada, the Medical director of the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry and the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank.  Together we will learn how they have structured their businesses to work together and create success for both.

The Cord Blood Donation Program operates within Bloodworks Northwest, an independent, community-based nonprofit organization with a tradition blending volunteerism, medical science and research to advance transfusion medicine and improve patient care.

Cord blood units are collected at the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank and sent to their partners at Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle for processing and storage. Those units collected by the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank are then listed with the National Marrow Donor Program’s network of cord blood banks.

Listen into this live Q&A session to learn how Bloodworks and the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank work together to ensure safe inventory levels of this important live saving resource.

Cord blood is often lauded for the fact that it is easier to match than bone marrow when used as a source of stem cells for cancer patients in need of a transplant. However, it still requires HLA matching which means that it is important to collect cord blood donations from families of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Given this priority, combined with the fact that public donation programs are few and far between, it is vitally important that public cord blood donation programs first be focused on areas with a diverse population. The California Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program has recognized this need and built their program accordingly.  

​Join us to hear Dr. Suzanne Pontow, Director of the California Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program, go into detail about cord blood collection amongst diverse ethnic populations. This state-funded cord blood collection program has selected high-birthrate hospitals in five metropolitan areas. This has allowed the state of California to develop a public cord blood inventory with increased racial/ethnic diversity compared with the national inventory. In her presentation, Dr. Pontow will describe the program's racial and Hispanic ethnicity demographic and usage characteristics of cord blood units (CBUs) preserved under this legislative program and retrieved for transplantation.

SHARE THE SCIENCE
with

Suzanne Pontow, PhD
Co-Director, Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program for University of California Davis Health System
 
"Transplant Activity Reflects the
Diversity of the California Public Cord Blood Inventory" 
Free webinar.  Open to the public.
​
Wednesday, July 13th, 2022  3pm EDT / 2pm CDT

RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE
via the Share the Science Archive