SAN FRANCISCO, CA, July 26, 2017 – The Cleveland Cord Blood Center has expanded umbilical cord blood collection to the West Coast with the addition of Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center as a center for donation and collection. The hospital became the first in the city to provide expectant parents with the opportunity to donate their babies’ umbilical cord blood to a public cord blood bank.
The San Francisco collection center is supported by the California Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program, a statewide public program to capture a genetically diverse bank of cord blood units available to anyone for lifesaving transplantations. A more diverse pool increases the chances of a match for life-saving treatments, particularly for minority groups and patients of mixed heritage. Minority donations are underrepresented in public cord blood banks.
A CCBC-trained team collects and prepares the cord blood for shipment to the Northeast Ohio center. Units approved for clinical use will be processed, stored and ultimately listed on an international registry which is accessible by doctors worldwide.
“We are grateful for the support of the California Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program and its statewide effort to collect cord blood units from diverse populations for public banking,” said Marcie Finney, Executive Director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center.
“Kaiser Permanente San Francisco will help further expand our diverse donor pool, and enhance our ability to help meet the growing global demand for umbilical cord blood matches,” she said.
Cord blood is used to treat dozens of diseases and disorders such as anemia, leukemia, lymphoma and sickle-cell. Researchers also rely on cord blood stem cells to find and develop new treatments.
“We are excited to participate in California’s Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program with the Cleveland Cord Blood Center,” said Maria Ansari, Physician-in-Chief, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. “Cord blood units collected here have the potential to save a life anywhere in the country. Participation in a public cord blood program allows our patients to donate their babies cord blood to benefit the health of the community.”
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About Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 11.8 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.