Doctor: ‘Beautiful, beautiful, it’s a girl! She’s a beaut.’

There can be few moments more miraculous than the birth of a baby. On the morning of the 9th of September this year Kyra Pawlik was born at the Park Lane Clinic. Kyra’s birth was perfectly normal, except for one thing. Within minutes of her delivery a needle was inserted into the umbilical cord and the blood was drawn.

Most new parents will do just about anything to give their children the best possible start in life. They will take out life assurance policies, start savings accounts and even pre-pay to get them into the best possible schools. But now some parents are taking out special medical insurance right at the moment of birth

A few months before her arrival Kyra’s parents, Shana and Marcu, made a decision that could one day save her life. They decided to save the blood from the umbilical cord and put it in storage for the next two decades.

Dr Theo Kopenhager (Obstetrician): ‘I think that it’s potentially a brilliant insurance policy. The potential uses for it are quite startling. It’s almost not science fiction to talk about reconstruction of spines and hearts – and that is in the not at ? all too near distant future. Superman might fly again.’

Obstetrician, doctor Theo Kopenhager is talking about the stem cells in the umbilical cord blood. Many believe that these miracle cells have the potential to change the face of medicine. For babies like Kyra this is bio-insurance, 21st Century style.

Stephen Purcell (Pathologist – Cryoclinic): ‘It’s an ideal opportunity to bank cells cheaply and effectively.’

Pathologist Stephen Purcell is the medical adviser of Cryoclinic, a European company that stores cord blood stem cells. Stem cells are like seed cells because they form the building blocks of our blood, organs, tissue and our immune system. Everyone has stem cells – even mature adults. They not only form the organs and tissue, they can also repair them.

Stephen: ‘Their repair function has been demonstrated even in the human brain.’

Already stem cell therapy is saving lives in the treatment of a variety of genetic blood disorders and malignant conditions like leukaemia.

Shana and Marcus are happy to fork out the R9600.00 that it costs to harvest and store the stem cells for the next 21 years. If Kyra ever needs them she won’t have to hunt for a matching donor.

Marcus Pawlik (Parent): ‘We all should try to give the best start to our children and this is actually better than any other life insurance or health insurance you can get.’

It could also help any other member of her family who needs a blood or bone marrow transplant.

Shana Pawlik (Parent): ‘I believe that there is about 60% chance that my other daughter will be a match, whereas if she had to use our bone marrow it would be far less.’

Within half an hour of her birth, Kyra’s stem cells are packed in a temperature-controlled cylinder to be flown to Belgium. At the lab in Belgium, the technician will separate the stem cells from the rest of the blood, put in them a cryo-preservative and then place them in storage, where they will stay until they are needed.

Stephen: ‘They are frozen and they are stored at minus 196 degrees Celsius. That is the temperature at which there is meant to be no metabolic activity within a cell, theoretically enabling those cells to be immortal.’

Those offering the service say that it could help to save a child’s life. Others say that it is just exploiting parents’ fears. Some medical professionals are concerned that parents are being coerced through guilt into buying something that they only have a remote possibility of needing or using successfully.

Given her family medical history, the chances of Kyra or anyone in her immediate family ever needing the cells for cancer or blood disorders are remote, but Stephen believes that it is a worthwhile investment.

Stephen: ‘We are going to see stem cell therapy being used for wider indications and I think that ultimately this is going to change the face of medicine.’

While most of the scientific focus is on the immature cord cells, adult stem cells are already acting as lifesavers – especially in the field of cancer treatment – and the beauty is that you can use your own.

Stephen Marrs (South African Blood Services): ‘Moses, we are going to give your stem cells back today.’

Stephen Marrs is a medical technician at the South African Blood Services. Stephen is about to administer a life saving infusion of stem cells to a leukaemia patient. Twenty-four hours earlier Moses was given a very strong dose of chemotherapy to kill off the cancerous cells in his body. The dose is so toxic, it is practically lethal and without the stem cells he would probably die.

Marrs: ‘There are no white cells for defence of the body, very little red cells and very little platelets. So the patient could bleed and the patient is at risk of infection.’

This is what is known as stem cell rescue.

Marrs: ‘With the re-infusion of the stem cells or the transplant of the stem cells to the patient, the stem cells migrate to the bone marrow and produce the red cells, the white cells and the platelets that are required.’

The stem cells literally rescue the patient from death. Within weeks Moses should have developed a new, fully functioning immune system and be free of malignant cells. This procedure is seen as a last resort because of the high risk to the patient’s life. But there are some pioneers who are taking stem cell rescue beyond cancer treatment.

Graeme West (MS Patient): ‘This whole stem cell transplant thing I had … the first one was done about three years ago in the States and about 200 or 300 have been done worldwide. And it is a miracle in my opinion… a medical miracle.’

Graeme West had an aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis – an incurable degenerative disease. Graeme was first diagnosed in May 2001; by October he was in a wheelchair.

Graeme: ‘Your white blood cells have become confused and they believe that your body is an invader, so the white blood cells are attacking your own bits and pieces.’

Dr Dominic Giampaolo (Neurologist): ‘Graeme had numerous lesions – specifically in that area of the part called the cerebellum and the brain stem – specifically a large one in the middle of his brain stem where all the nerve fibres come together, and that is what left him so incapacitated.’

Doctor Dominic Giampaolo was Graeme’s neurologist. At first Dominic tried every kind of known treatment. Nothing helped and his condition continued to deteriorate. They decided to try a revolutionary procedure: stem cell rescue.

Dominic: ‘We did have the technology in South Africa to do it. It hadn’t been done for any neurological disorder or multiple sclerosis so I said, ‘Sure, but you must understand that there is a possibility that you might die from the procedure.’ And there were only a handful that had been done for Multiple Sclerosis in the world at the time.’

Graeme: ‘And I said, ‘Look, let’s do it anyway, because I don’t want to carry on living the way I am living and I’m prepared to take my chances.’ ‘

Of the few hundred multiple sclerosis sufferers who have used stem cells treatment, eight percent died from the procedure. What Graeme and Dominic were about to do was radical and experimental – a last resort. It is a similar procedure to the one used on cancer patients.

Dominic: ‘Basically give ?? we take the stem cells which are your pro-genitors or primary cells that we then divide up to all the different blood constituents. We take that out and then give you a chemo-therapeutic dose that would normally ablate you and get rid of all your white cells and red cells and platelets.’

Derek: ‘Graeme, the question is : what would have happened if you had had the chemo without the stem cells?’

Graeme: ‘Then you die. You have to have the stem cells because the chemo has killed all the white blood cells. The whole procedure would simply not be viable if there was not some way of regenerating the white blood cells.’

Within a couple of weeks of the treatment Graeme’s system had been kick started by the stem cells and began to grow new white blood cells, and a whole new immune system.

Graeme: ‘The day after they did the chemo, my mind cleared. It was amazing. I thought it was fantastic. Of course then you are very, very ill and, in my case, it was about four, four and half weeks; extremely ill with the side effects of having no immune system. But then I was fine. And after I got home from hospital, I think was home for another week, a week and a half and then went back to work.’

As Graeme’s body began to heal, the lesions in his brain began to disappear. For the past two years check-ups have shown that he is free of the disease. After 18 months of intensive physiotherapy he is able to walk on crutches and even drive a car. But research is already advancing far beyond stem cell rescue.

Stem cells hold out the promise of actually renewing damaged cells and tissues at specific sites within the body. So if the scientists can get it right, diseases like Alzheimers, Parkinson’s, diabetes, strokes, burns, heart diseases and even spinal cord injuries could be treated using these versatile cells.

Derek: ‘So that’s the idea, they would be programmed to head for your heart muscle, your spinal cord?’

Dominic: ‘Or, if you have developed a type of cancer and they want to wipe out a certain type of organ, you could regenerate the same type of tissue by a stem cell that was kept for you or harvested when you were born.’

Experiments on rats have shown that damaged spinal cords infused with stem cells began to regenerate new tissue and repair the spines. What sounds like science fiction is already happening. According to Stephen Purcell scientists are starting to manipulate human stem cells and successfully use them to regenerate certain tissues.

Stephen: ‘We have an ability to provide clinicians with both cartilage and bone, and soon we will have the ability to provide tissue with human heart muscle cells.’

This means that doctors can now use stem cells to repair damaged joints and, soon, treat chronic heart conditions.

Although stem cell research is in its infancy and the costs of treatment are exorbitant, many people are willing to take the risk. They see it as their sole chance of survival.

Steve Loeb (ALS Sufferer): ‘Right now I have my back against the wall and there is basically nothing the medical fraternity can do for me, so I see this as a miracle that is about to happen.’

On the morning that we spoke to Steve Loeb he was about to fly overseas to get an infusion of stem cells that he hopes will save his life. The thirty-seven-year-old father of two has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS, an untreatable form of motor neuron disease.

Steve: ‘Basically it’s a wasting of the muscles. My muscles will shrink and disappear. They no longer get stimulated or nourished by the brain.’

Steve was diagnosed about six months ago. Since then his degeneration has been rapid. His speech has become slurred, he has difficulty swallowing and his limbs are weakening. At night he suffers from severe and painful cramping in his legs. Without treatment Steve will soon be totally paralysed; eventually he will not be able to breathe on his own. It has had a devastating effect on him and his young family.

Derek: ‘How have Jessica and Gabriel handled it?’

Steve: ‘They’ve been amazing. They know what is wrong with their daddy.’

A few months ago his wife, Darice, found an American medical research company on the net. The company claims it has had some miraculous results while conducting research using donor cord blood stem cells.

Steve: ‘They’ve had phenomenal results with breast cancer and heart disease and blood disorders and with ALS they have treated a few people and there have been some remarkable recoveries.’

The company claims that their cellular therapy is capable of regenerating and repairing body tissues. All they do is infuse a concentration of selected stem cells into the system. Then, they claim, the cells and the body do the rest.

Steve: ‘They haven’t said it’s a cure or how long the recovery will last, because they don’t know. They basically have got to use what the trial gave behind them.??’

Steve had to raise about $21 000.00 or R150 000 to pay for the infusion. The therapy has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration of America. The Company refused to speak to Carte Blanche or allow Steve to take pictures of the procedure.

Derek: ‘Are some companies jumping on the bandwagon and getting rich by making false promises?’

Dominic: ‘I think if you are desperate and there is any slight possibility, you will go to the nth degree to try anything that might help you or prevent suffering and therefore I think, yes, it can be viewed as preying on the desperate. But without it we would never get anywhere.’

And science would make no progress. Steve received the infusion two weeks ago. He says that already some of his symptoms – like the painful cramps – are easing. He won’t know until a few months’ time whether the progress of the disease has actually been halted. Despite, or maybe because of, the risks being taken, stem cells are making big news.

Dominic: ‘When you go to major congresses in the US or in Europe it always occupies a major section on their central platforms for discussion and therefore stem cells are at the forefront and gaining momentum.’

Overseas thousands of people are already storing or donating cord blood. In this country cord blood collection could become as routine as it is now unusual. Public banks will offer a cheap and accessible source of these potentially miraculous cells, making them available to everyone.

ZUTPHEN, The Netherlands, January 12, 2012

Cryo-Save India adds another stone to its stem cell banking service by receiving the prestigious AABB accreditation

In a country lacking stringent regulations to govern the audit checks on the authenticity and reliability of the processing and storage of stem cells, Cryo-Save India, subsidiary of Europe’s leading family stem cell bank, has proved its quality assurance by receiving the prestigious AABB accreditation.

The American Association of Blood Banks (“AABB”) accreditation follows an intensive onsite assessment by specially trained AABB assessors and establishes that the level of technical and administrative performance within the facility meets or exceeds the standards set by AABB. It qualifies the viability of the sample processed and stored at the Cryo-Save lab to be successfully used in a transplant any time in the future.

The AABB’s accreditation procedures are voluntary. Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, Cryo-Save India said, “We are extremely pleased to have been granted this accreditation. With this, Cryo-Save India has once again demonstrated superior capabilities in the stem cell banking space and we will continue to deliver on our ongoing commitment to the highest quality standards, thereby providing the best of services to our customers”.

Arnoud van Tulder, CEO, Cryo-Save Group said, “As a group, we are thrilled to have received the AABB certification in India. I strongly believe that this accreditation will help rid the Indian stem cell industry of speculations that cloud it and will infuse much needed confidence in the market.”

Marc Waeterschoot, QP and Co-founder, Cryo-Save Group said, “Obtaining this accreditation has lend further credibility to standards that we adhere to in terms of collection, processing and storage of the stem cells, which are at par with international standards. I am sure we have more to offer as we grow in the coming years.”

AABB is an international non-profit body dedicated to developing the highest standards in blood and cord blood banking, transfusion medicine and cellular therapy. AABB accreditation contributes to the quality and safety of collection, processing, testing, distributing and administering blood and cellular therapy products and storage. The accreditation program assesses the quality and operational systems in place within the storage facility and ensures compliance with AABB Standards, Code of Federal Regulations and Federal guidance documents.

The AABB Accreditation Program has been recognized by the International Society for Quality in Health care (ISQua).

Cryo-Save India, a 100% subsidiary of Cryo Save Group N.V which is Europe’s largest adult stem cell storage bank, is headquartered in Bangalore with a state-of-the art fully automated adult stem-cell storage facility.

Cryo-Save, the leading international family stem cell bank, stores more than 200,000 samples from umbilical cord blood, cord tissue and adipose tissue. There are already many diseases treatable by the use of stem cells, and the number of treatments will only increase. Driven by its international business strategy, Cryo-Save is now represented in over 40 countries on four continents, with ultra-modern processing and storage facilities in the United States, Belgium, Germany, Dubai, India, South Africa and France (validation in progress).

In 2011, Cryo-Save stored almost 40,000 samples. It means an improvement of 4 % compared to previous year. On December 31st, 2011 we reached a total of 204,000 samples stored.

Arnoud van Tulder, Chief Executive officer, commented:

“We are pleased to report a new company record of almost 40,000 new samples stored in a year, and crushing the landmark of having more than 200,000 samples stored in our ultramodern state-of the art processing and storage facilities.

“We are confident that our growth strategy will result in continued increasing storage volumes in 2012”.

If you would like to read the full press release please click here.