CBR Client Newsletter Summer 2009

1-888-770-6105 | Summer 2009

Medical & Science

Cord Blood Stem Cells Alter Course of Type 1 Diabetes Treatment

Preliminary data presented at this year's American Diabetes Association annual scientific meeting shows that infusing a child suffering from type 1 diabetes with his or her own cord blood stem cells may decrease the amount of insulin treatment the patient needs. Eight CBR clients participated in this first phase of the trial; a second phase of the study is now underway. This data adds to the growing body of evidence showing the effectiveness of using a child's own stem cells (also called autologous use) for medical therapies to help repair damaged tissue and regenerate healthy cells.

In another prominent study on type 1 diabetes published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association co-author Dr. Richard Burt reports that researchers have used infusions of a patients' own stem cells from bone marrow to reverse the course of type 1 diabetes. "I wouldn't use the word cure, but it appears we changed the natural history of the disease. It's the first therapy for [type 1 diabetes] patients that leaves them treatment-free - no insulin, no immune suppression for almost five years."

Stroke Patients Treated with Own Stem Cells

Stroke patients injected with purified stem cells from their own bone marrow showed marked improvement in neurological deficits and physical handicaps. This recent study included a control group that did not receive the stem cell infusion and did not show the same results as those who did receive infusions.

According to the study investigator: "This study shows that stem cells are a safe and feasible therapy in acute stroke. This holds promise and needs to be confirmed in a bigger study."

Cord Blood for a Horse? Of Course!

Cord Blood for a Horse? Of Course! We may not be the only ones to benefit from banking cord blood. In a recent blog entry published at the Huffington Post, nurse practitioner Barb Dehn describes how medical researchers are using a horse's own cord blood stem cells to safely treat what could otherwise be career-ending injuries.

In her blog entry, Barb points out that owners and breeders of prize-winning thoroughbreds are being encouraged to bank the horse's umbilical cord blood. "If it's a good idea for a race horse, then you can bet it's probably a great idea for humans," Barb writes in her blog post. You can read Barb's blog entry in its entirety here.

Public Policy

Help Support H.R. 1718 the Family Cord Blood Banking Act

A new federal bill was recently introduced in Congress that would allow families to use tax-free dollars to pay for cord blood banking through flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).

If you haven't already, there is still time to share your voice and help reduce the cost of cord blood banking for expecting families in the future. Please e-mail your U.S. Congressional Representative and ask him or her to sign-on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1718, The Family Cord Blood Banking Act. Contact your U.S. Representative by visiting the U.S. House of Representatives "Write Your Representative" web site.

Client Updates

Important Notice: Create Your Client Online Access Today
Connecting with CBR has never been easier. As a client of CBR, you can use your online access to view details of your child's cord blood stem cells, update your contact information and stay current with the latest in cord blood stem cell news. Login now

Earn a Free Year of Storage
You made the important decision to protect your baby's future health by banking with CBR. Share your knowledge with pregnant friends before their due date and earn one year of free storage for each family who banks with us. Email a Friend

Expecting Again?
Now more than ever before, medical research supports saving the cord blood for each child. Various studies indicate a child's own stem cells hold promise in the treatment of conditions like brain injury and type 1 diabetes! Enroll again

CBR Gift Registry
CBR Gift Registry helps expectant parents by letting friends and family contribute to the cost of cord blood banking. Give the gift of protection through the CBR Gift Registry. Learn more

	Dad-to-be-Diaries: Helping one expectant father at a time
	"What did you just say?" These are the five words no expectant father wants to hear coming out of his pregnant partner's mouth. Learn more about what an expectant father should never say or do in the second edition of the Dad-to-Be-Diaries hosted by author Harlan Cohen.

Every CBR Client Experience Must Be Golden

Since CBR's inception, our founders have insisted that one overarching rule guide everything we do: Treat others the way you'd like to be treated. It's simple, but it's Golden. In fact, we believe this is the only way to treat people. Every CBR employee strives to make sure we live up to this golden promise.

How are we doing? We ask every new client to give us a report card on their experience with us. We literally get hundreds of report cards a week. On average, more than 99 percent of our clients report that they're satisfied. That's a great number... but from our perspective, it means we have a bit more work to do. At CBR, every client experience must be golden.

In the coming weeks, we will be finalizing major upgrades to our web site for Clients. We can't wait to share the new site with you. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you haven't done so recently, please update your account information here so we can stay in contact with you. Stem cell medicine is changing rapidly, and part of our service commitment is to keep you apprised of how your child's newborn stem cells may benefit your child or other member of your family in the future.

	Join the thousands who follow CBR's Blog
	In our ongoing effort to offer you perspectives and commentary about stem cell news and developments, we want to encourage you to sign up for our blog, The Stem Cell Source. Cord Blood Registry continues to play an important role in advancing medical research using a child's own cord blood to treat conditions that have no cure today. We invite you to join our discussion, spread the word, and learn more by *signing up* to receive updates from The Stem Cell Source.

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