Cleveland Cord Blood Center

Reflecting on a year of milestones and impact at CCBC! Take a moment to read CCBC’s Year in Review.
As we look back on the past year, we're proud to share our journey of growth, innovation, and collaboration. From innovative cord blood practices to expanding our partnerships, here's a glimpse into CCBC's year in review:
As we look ahead to the future, we're excited to build upon this momentum and continue our mission of advancing healthcare through cord blood innovation. Thank you to our team, cord blood donors, collection sites, partners, and supporters for an incredible year! Here's to many more milestones ahead!

https://clevelandcordblood.org/about-us/year-in-review/

Did you know? A significant number of cord blood units are ineligible for FDA licensure due to donor or partner travel history, impacting potential life-saving therapies. Despite updated guidelines for blood donation, regulations for Human Cell and Tissue Products (HCTPs) remain unchanged. This analysis sheds light on the high rate of cord blood unit ineligibility due to Zika virus risk. It's time for updated regulations to expand the donor pool and ensure availability of these crucial therapies. Learn more:

Impact of FDA’s HCT/P ZIKV Recommendations on Cord Blood Unit Eligibility and Utilization in a Large Public Cord Blood Bank AbstractBackground. Cord blood units (CBUs) that are ineligible for licensure due to incomplete compliance with FDA recommendations may be used for hematop

We are thrilled to welcome Dawn Williams, MBA, as the newest member of the CCBC Board of Directors! Her background in inclusive leadership, organizational culture, and talent management is a perfect fit for our mission. With a master's in business administration and a bachelor's in applied psychology, Dawn is dedicated to driving positive change in healthcare. Dawn's appointment to our board reflects our commitment to advancing cord blood utilization and therapy for better healthcare outcomes. Welcome aboard, Dawn!

During National Nurses Week, May 6 through 12th, 2024, the Cleveland Cord Blood Center is celebrating all the wonderful nurses at our six collection sites across the U.S!

Medical Laboratory Professionals Week may be over for 2024, but we can keep celebrating our wonderful laboratory professionals at the Cleveland Cord Blood Center! Our talented and hard-working staff receive, accession, and process lifesaving materials daily. This team works together to store and distribute fresh and frozen cord blood units, saving lives one cord at a time. A huge shout out and thank you to the amazing laboratory staff at CCBC!

Introducing our CCBC High Five recipients: Sara Shields, Sue Boucher, Roddrica Joseph, Jo Ann Chase, Dawn Thut, Bridget Wood, Anna Alvior, Crystal Abel, Janelle Sarmiento, and Diana Campos! At CCBC, we believe in acknowledging those who consistently go above and beyond. The 'High Five' program is our way of recognizing and appreciating individuals who excel in problem-solving, teamwork, and spreading positivity. Join us in giving a virtual high five to these exceptional team members!

On Administrative Professionals’ week, the Cleveland Cord Blood Center would like to recognize and celebrate Sydnie Echols, Administrative and Finance Coordinator extraordinaire. Sydnie has been with CCBC for 12 years and is instrumental in keeping CCBC running smoothly.

Thanks Sydnie for all you do for CCBC!

Join our Executive Director, Marcie Finney, for a webinar on the future of cord blood banking hosted by the Cord Blood Association (CBA). Alongside Dr. Colleen Delaney and Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, CBA leaders will delve into cutting-edge topics in cord blood banking and therapeutic applications. Don't miss out on this complimentary event on April 29th from 2:00 - 3:30 PM CT.

Cord Blood Association - Advocacy and Education Advocacy and Education for the Cord Blood Banking Industry.

The Cleveland Cord Blood Center is celebrating another great milestone by shipment of its 800th cord blood unit for clinical transplant!

We would like to thank all of our wonderful cord blood donors, collection sites and collectors, dedicated CCBC team, and our NMDP network partner, who have helped make a difference in the lives of so many patients and their families. We are truly grateful for this cord blood community.

Pictured here are Erica and Michelle, two CCBC laboratory staff members pleased to prepare the #800 unit for shipment. They’re standing next to the dry shipper, which maintains the cord blood unit at temperatures below -150C during its journey to the transplant center. CCBC has shipped clinical units to over 15 countries across the globe and has been able to distribute units as fast as 24 hours from request for very urgent orders.

Save a Cord. Save a Life.

Don't miss out on a wealth of knowledge and inspiration! Dive into the incredible sessions from CB Connect – an invaluable resource for all things cord blood. Access the recorded sessions with the link below. Learn from industry experts, gain insights, and stay at the forefront of innovation in cord blood research and practice. Whether you're a professional or just passionate about this field, these recordings are a must-watch!

Session Recordings

🎄As we celebrate the holiday season, we extend our warmest wishes to our incredible cord blood donors, esteemed partners, dedicated collaborators, our valued CCBC board members, and our exceptional team at Cleveland Cord Blood Center! Your unwavering support and commitment have been the heart of our success throughout the year. May this season be filled with joy, love, and cherished moments with your loved ones. Happy Holidays from all of us at CCBC!

Join us in celebrating a decade of dedication and excellence! 🌟 Wouter Van't Hof, your commitment and expertise have been invaluable to the Cleveland Cord Blood Center's success. Congratulations on 10 incredible years of service, during which your pivotal role has significantly contributed to CCBC's achievements, including the FDA BLA. Here's to many more milestones and continued success!

Thank you, Cleveland Cord Blood Center , for volunteering with the Cuyahoga East Chamber of Commerce at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank yesterday! We had much fun connecting and working together to prepare our community for the holiday season.

Want to volunteer at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank with the CuyEast Chamber? Email us at [email protected].

🌍 Happy World Cord Blood Day! Check out the latest feature on CCBC by Jamie Sullivan on CLE Weekends. Meet Lauren, a true hero and living proof of the incredible impact of cord blood donation! 💙 In this touching video, she shares how a cord blood transplant changed her life. Lauren's story is a testament to the generosity of families who make the choice to donate cord blood, making a difference in the lives of those in need. 🩸 It's heartwarming to hear how easy the donation process is, and Lauren is beyond grateful to all the families who've made this gift possible. Let's join Lauren in celebrating the power of cord blood donation and express our gratitude to the amazing families who make it all happen! 💙

Cord Blood Recipient Lauren Mostardi Shares her Story November 11, 2023

🌐 Join us in celebrating World Cord Blood Day tomorrow! 🩸 Our very own Jamie Sullivan, Cleveland area news anchor at WOIO Channel 19, shared her inspiring cord blood donation story on CLE Weekends. Watch the video to catch a glimpse of the amazing work at Cleveland Cord Blood Center (CCBC) and an interview with Lauren, a cord blood transplant recipient. Let's raise awareness and recognize the impact of cord blood donation! https://www.cleveland19.com/video/2023/11/09/celebrate-world-cord-blood-day/

Tune in to CLE Weekends with Jamie Sullivan when she’ll share a personal story about cord blood donation. Hope you’ll join us on Saturday at 8:00am on 19 News.

Looking forward to showcasing a personal story this weekend on CLE Weekend! Hope you’ll join us on Saturday at 8:00am on 19 News 📺

Cleveland Cord Blood Center

New publication in Cell Reports Medicine shows that frozen cord blood is stable after long-term (>25 years) storage in liquid nitrogen.

Public cord blood banking relies on storing cord blood until the time it may be needed for clinical transplantation. A new publication by the group of the late Hal Broxmeyer shows that units stored for 27 years retain the critical biological properties and activity needed for transplantation into patients for treatment of certain leukemias and other blood cancers. These “old” units are currently often excluded for consideration for transplant. The newly reported detailed research studies indicate that “unit age” does not need to be a restriction in selection of the best available cord blood unit for transplant.

Insights into highly engraftable hematopoietic cells from 27-year cryopreserved umbilical cord blood Broxmeyer et al. show that long-term cryopreserved umbilical cord blood retains highly engraftable hematopoietic cells. Transcriptomic profiling reveals gene signatures associated with engraftment. Thus, older cord blood units should not be excluded from clinical selection, and omics approaches are...

We had an amazing time at the Prego Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, connecting with expectant families and spreading awareness about the importance of donating umbilical cord blood for those in need of a cord blood transplant.
Our team at the Cleveland Cord Blood Center was thrilled to be part of this wonderful event and share valuable information with the community. One highlight of the day was the positive feedback we received about our translated brochures. We're thrilled to hear that families were impressed with our efforts to provide information in multiple languages, making it even more accessible to a diverse range of communities.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth, asked questions, and showed their support. We're grateful for the chance to share our mission and connect with so many wonderful individuals.

WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! Congratulations to Maricela B. on winning two free tickets to The Prego Expo in Atlanta, GA!

If you have a chance, please join us at The Prego Expo Saturday, October 21, 2023 from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm at AmericasMart in Atlanta, GA! Click the link below for more details!
https://www.thepregoexpo.com/

Looking to dive into the world of umbilical cord blood? 🌟 Tune in to the latest episode of the Innovating, Advocating & Advancing Cord Blood R&D podcast with our Executive Director Marcie Finney and Dr. Frances Verter. Learn how their pioneering work at the Cleveland Cord Blood Center and Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation is contributing to the future of healthcare. Don't miss out on this enlightening journey!

Marcie Finney & Dr. Frances Verter - Innovating, Advocating & Advancing Cord Blood R&D Marcie Finney is the Executive Director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center ( https://clevelandcordblood.org/about-us/leadership/ ) where her responsibilities...

Reminder!!! We are giving away two free tickets to the Prego Expo in Atlanta, GA at AmericasMart on October 21, 2023. Don’t forget to enter the ticket giveaway by Wednesday, October 18 by simply emailing Candice Laster at [email protected]. The winners will be announced Thursday, October 19, 2023. We hope to see you there!!!

We are excited to announce that we are participating in a pregnancy fair in Atlanta, GA! If you are delivering at Piedmont Atlanta or Emory Midtown and are interested in cord blood donation, visit our booth to learn more!

Join us on October 21, 2023 at The Prego Expo at AmericasMart Atlanta from 11am – 5pm! We are also giving away two free tickets! Please email [email protected] by Wednesday, October 18, 2023 for entry into the drawing! The winner will be announced Thursday, October 19, 2023! Please click the link below for more details about The Prego Expo. Hope to see you there!

Atlanta- 2023 Meet and talk exhibitors specializing in fertility, pregnancy, and baby. Learn new techniques, baby must-haves and personal health!

CCBC’s Hospital Liaison, Sue Boucher spent time with Childbirth Educators at Fairview to discuss public cord blood donations frequently asked questions and in an effort to increase the number of families interested in dontating their babies cord blood. Visit our website to download our quick guide and FAQs about donating cord blood. https://clevelandcordblood.org/donate-cord-blood/
Save a Cord. Save a Life.

Don't miss the opportunity to meet the Leadership of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center, at Cord Blood Connect meeting September 8-10th in Miami, Florida. Come meet and greet, Marcie Finney, Executive Director, who will be a panelist in the discussion of The Future of Cord Blood Banking, Dr. Wouter Van’t Hof, Cord Blood Bank Director, who will be Chairing a session on Supply Chain Challenges, and Sara Shields, Associate Director, Processing Facility, who will be presenting effective triaging strategies for cord blood bank manufacturing as part of the best abstract award winners. Their expertise and passion for cord blood utilization are truly inspiring. Let's engage, learn, and be part of groundbreaking discussions together!

Cord Blood Connect Cord Blood Connect is the single place where the worldwide cord blood and perinatal tissue community comes together to learn, teach, share, refresh, and reconnect! This conference will provide you with the most current information on scientific studies and clinical advances. Visit vendors and explor...

Interested in learning about effective triaging strategies for cord blood manufacturing? Join Sara Shields, winner of a best abstract award, at the Cord Blood Connect meeting September 8th-10th in Miami, Florida.
www.cb-association.org/cord-blood-connect

CCBC’s Candice Laster, offered her vast experience in public cord blood banking to OB/GYN Residents at Emory Midtown Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. The group was very interested it the programs and asked great questions.

Please take the time to read CCBC’s 2022 Year in Review for examples of how critical connections in our communities — with our donating families, cord blood recipients, industry partners, local universities, our Board of Directors, key opinion leaders, funders, and so many others — helped shape and power our work together.
In 2022:
• Over 4,000 families donated cord blood units to CCBC
• We celebrated 10 years in our Atlanta collection sites • The DEI committee continued to educate and engage our staff
• Research & Development made huge progress in identifying new uses for cord blood

Year in Review 2021 Year in Review 2020 Year in Review 2019 Year in Review 2018 Year in Review 2017 Year in Review 2016 Year in Review

Join us in celebrating National Nonprofit Day on August 17, 2023
https://clevelandcordblood.org/contribute/

Are you interested in learning more about cord blood? Do you have research focusing on cord blood you would like to share? Check out Cord Blood Connect presented by the Cord Blood Association this year from September 8-10 in Miami, FL.

Cord Blood Connect Cord Blood Connect is the single place where the worldwide cord blood and perinatal tissue community comes together to learn, teach, share, refresh, and reconnect! This conference will provide you with the most current information on scientific studies and clinical advances. Visit vendors and explor...

Check it out! CCBC employees recently volunteered at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Thank you to everyone who has donated their time to help those in need. If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, contact [email protected] for more information!