HealthBanks

The HealthBanks Group was founded in 2001 with a vision that stem cells & cell-based therapies could transform the future of medicine. With headquarters in Irvine, California, we are proud to be the first dual biobank in the United States to isolate & preserve stem cells from newborn umbilical cord blood & immune cells from adult whole blood.

Helping families preserve today’s healthy cells for a better tomorrow is our mission. For more information about our cord blood or immune cell banking services, contact us at 888-379-2670. Our client services team would be happy to assist.

With 2022 behind us, we wanted to share with you a collection of exciting news articles that we thought you'd find interesting from 2022. The cell & gene therapy field is filled with hard work by researchers around the world announcing fascinating discoveries that ultimately aim to save lives!

Enjoy: https://healthbanks.us/2022-news-recap-a-culmination-of-interesting-news-over-the-past-12-months/

Last week, a portion of our team celebrated the holiday season with quality time together.
From everyone at HealthBanks, Happy Holidays!

What are 4 early signs of labor? Cramps, pelvic pressure, loss of mucus plug, changes in vaginal discharge. Other changes include fatigue, sharp intense burning pain in pelvis, as well as even sudden bursts of energy.

Signs that labor are approaching vary from woman to woman, but there are a couple that can give some insights just how soon. Ultimately, frequency & intensity increasing determines labor timeline. Once contractions happen every 5 to 10 minutes, the waiting game is finally over.

The HealthBanks Group has been at the forefront of stem cell research & development of cell-based therapies for over 20 years helping identify better treatments for clinical diseases. From processing & storing cord blood to discovering new ways stem cells can be used to treat & cure diseases, HealthBanks takes pride in being a leading innovator in the cell banking industry.

We pride ourselves on using state-of-the-art automated technology for processing & preserving cell samples from our clients. Through this technology, we are increasing affordability & accessibility of life-saving treatments to families across the world.

Our Vision: To ensure the future benefit of cell & gene therapies to everyone in need.

When it comes time to planning for your little one to arrive, you’ll very likely have a baby shower where friends & family can purchase much-needed baby things! Gift cards, diapers, strollers, car seats, breast-feeding pumps, baby toys, baby bottles, bottle heaters, motorized rockers, changing table, the list can go on & on.

Thankfully, there are a few companies that offer baby registry services where you can select items you’re interested in & your guests can choose which they’ll get for you. Here are some of our favorite baby registry services to make this process a breeze:
• Best Variety: Amazon
• Best Baby Registry With Free Gifts: Target
• Best Post-Registry Perks: BuyBuyBaby
• Best Minimalist Baby Registry: Walmart
• Best Universal Baby Registry: Babylist
• Best for Nursery: Pottery Barn Kids
• Most Customizable Baby Registry: MyRegistry.com

Our team enjoys helping answer all of our client’s questions about cord blood banking. In our latest blog, we cover a variety of Frequently Asked Questions our team receives about cord blood banking. We share some infographics as well as diagrams so you & your family can make an educated decision about cord blood banking.

Our blog covers a variety of topics including pregnancy, fetus development, newborn health, parenting tips & tricks, cord blood banking news, plus much more: https://healthbanks.us/blogs/

Emily Whitehead is quite a well-known person within the Cell & Gene Therapy industry. As a 5-year-old, Emily was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at Penn State Health in Pennsylvania. A few months after her diagnosis, her condition worsened so much that she was no longer eligible to receive a transplant.

It was around that time that the FDA had approved a Phase 1 clinical trial for CAR T-Cell Therapy in children. Faced with the peculiar situation, her family decided to enroll in the clinical trial. 23 days after treatment, a bone marrow test showed that all of the cancer was gone! 10 years later, Emily remains cancer-free which is amazing news for everyone & especially so for those who decide to preserve their baby’s cord blood & tissue.

Since Emily became the first pediatric CAR T-Cell therapy, her success paved the way for more than 15,000 others who have been treated with CAR T-Cell therapy. Learn more about Emily Whitehead’s story by checking out an article dedicated to her on People.com: https://people.com/health/teen-is-cured-from-cancer-after-groundbreaking-therapy-10-years-ago-its-a-miracle-im-alive/

In celebrating the upcoming holiday season, HealthBanks makes cord blood banking affordable for all families with $0 enrollment fee for all cord blood banking plans. This limited-time offer applies to our Monthly, Annual, 20 Year & Lifetime storage plans. To learn more or enroll today, visit: HealthBanks.us.

Cancer continues to take the lives of hundreds of thousands every year despite the many standard therapies available including chemotherapy & radiation. Immunotherapy is a relatively new concept that describes using one's own immune cells as personalized medicine which is showing effectiveness against many types of cancers where chemotherapy & radiation have failed. One of the many therapies that is showing amazing potential is called CAR T-Cell Therapy.

By targeting individual cancer cells, destroying them & drawing the attention of other immune cells, the modified CAR T-cells can effectively bring cancer patients into remission. Current studies show that these modified T cells stay in the body for an extended period of time, & potentially may offer long term protection from new cancer cells. According to ClinicalTrials.gov, as of September 30th, 2022, there are over 100 active clinical trials with CAR T-cell therapy & over 600 clinical trials in recruiting or enrolling stages.

Anyone who is healthy should consider banking their immune cells while they’re immune system is strong. Because cancer is often affected by genetic predisposition, those with a family history of cancer will have a higher chance of developing cancer & should consider banking their immune cells before showing any signs.

HealthBanks offers both stem cell & immune cell banking services. Our state-of-the-art processing technology & cryogenic preservation systems allow us to provide the best-in-class services within the cell banking industry. We invite you to learn more about the life-saving potential of immune cell banking by visiting: https://healthbanks.us/healthbanks-immune-cell-booklet/

With cord blood banking, there is only one opportunity to collect, process & preserve the stem cells found in the umbilical cord blood & tissue. Knowing this, preserving our client’s precious stem cells with the best technology available in the world is our priority. Both of our cryogenic storage tanks, shown above, preserve the stem cells at extremely cold temperatures inside where the health of the cells remains viable for a very long time.

HealthBanks is proud to be the only private cord blood bank to offer clients the option to store their newborn’s stem cells in either cryogenic storage tank: the affordable, manual MVE® Dewars or the automated, state-of-the-art BioArchive®.

The BioArchive® system is an automated system where the stem cells from cord blood are robotically submerged in liquid nitrogen. The unique automated system allows full control of the freezing rate of the stem cells down to -196° Celsius. Because the stem cells are submerged in liquid nitrogen, temperature fluctuations of the samples are minimized which is best for long term health. Studies show stem cells stored with the BioArchive® system maintain their health & viability for over 20 years & counting. No other private cord blood bank offers this state-of-the-art automated storage technology.

One of the many questions our team receives is: Can you do both Delayed Cord Clamping & Cord Blood Banking?

The short answer: Yes, it is possible to do both. With our FDA-approved collection kit, there is a 30-minute window after birth for your delivery team to collect up to 200mL of cord blood as well as a large portion of umbilical cord.

The long answer: The goal of delayed cord clamping is to allow some of the blood in the umbilical cord to flow into the newborn. This is most likely to happen in the first 30-60 seconds after birth. Waiting beyond that point will not add significantly to the blood volume that the newborn receives but will significantly decrease your ability to collect the cord blood. As the blood flow in the umbilical cord slows down, the blood starts to clot which makes it difficult to collect the cord blood.

Following the recommendations of SOGC & ACOG, providing the mother is not iron deficient & that the pregnancy is at least 37 weeks gestation, cord clamping 30-60 seconds after birth will ensure a safe outcome for the baby & allow for an adequate umbilical cord blood collection if the parents wish to do so.

For more information about this topic: https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/faqs/can-i-have-delayed-cord-clamping-and-still-collect-cord-blood

What services does HealthBanks offer than helps us stand out from our competitors?
At HealthBanks, we process both umbilical cord blood & cord tissue, as well as take it one step further & harvest live Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) from cord tissue.

Harvesting MSCs from umbilical cord tissue is now possible thanks to our unique approach to processing where the MSCs multiply in a controlled, sterile environment. As the cells grow in our incubators, our team monitors them through a microscope to ensure they’re perfectly healthy. Once the MSCs have been expanded into the millions, our team will test the sterility (cleanliness), log the report, send the report to our Client Services team who share the results to our clients. We then preserve the MSCs in our cryogenic storage tanks where they can remain safely stored until needed.

MSCs are a special type of stem cell that can grow into specialized cells such as: nerve cells, heart cells, connective tissue, bone cells, liver cells, muscle cells, intestinal cells, plus much more. The powerful potential of MSCs is currently being researched to better understand the incredible potential to treat patients with a variety of conditions including burns, head trauma, heart attacks, strokes, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, paralysis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), connecting tissue injuries, plus many others.

How soon should I sign up for cord blood banking?
The short answer: as soon as possible.

If you’re considering banking your newborn’s cord blood or tissue, we recommend getting the enrollment process started sooner rather than later. Timing is of the essence since some babies can arrive sooner than anticipated. Parents only have 1 chance to collect the cord blood & tissue which is a 30-minute window of opportunity after birth.

For parents who decide last minute, we offer overnight delivery of our FDA-approved collection kit. For added convenience & peace of mind, we also offer our clients the option to have their collected materials picked up at the hospital & shipped back to us via a medical courier service. If you’re interested in preserving your newborn’s cord blood & tissue, our stem cell specialists would be happy to assist: 888-379-2670.

While the benefits of cord blood banking are widely talked about in the industry, the type of processing methods & cryogenic storage used to preserve the patient’s samples are not always part of the discussion.

We want to change that.

Cord blood processing is not equal across all cord blood banks which has a large impact on the quality & quantity of the collected hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). The AXP® II provides high-quality stem cell concentration from umbilical cord blood. It is a fully automated system that allows for the fast separation of cord blood in a closed, sterile environment. The biggest advantage is that it minimizes human error by avoiding manual processing & is gentle on the cells; in turn, delivers consistent & reproducible results.

Once the processing is completed, the AXP® II has concentrated the HSCs into a ready-to-freeze bag which the BioArchive®, the state-of-the-art automated cryogenic freezer shown above, carefully submerges in liquid nitrogen down -196 Celsius. The unique combination of these 2 unique devices can be the difference of lives saved according to a clinical study of 1,615 patients which showed a greater than 40% improvement in one-year survival rate in the patient group using both AXP® + BioArchive®.

Helping families secure the future health of their families with cord blood & tissue banking is our passion. So far, there have been over 40,000 individuals who have been treated with umbilical cord blood. You’ll be happy to know that there are at least 80 diseases that can be treated with cord blood & many more being researched year over year.

We invite you to learn more about cord blood & tissue banking by visiting our dedicated page which explains in detail the many benefits cord blood & tissue banking: https://healthbanks.us/why-bank/

When it comes to your overall health & wellness during pregnancy, yoga can be beneficial in many ways. If you stay active & perform yoga throughout pregnancy, your strength & flexibility will improve which can help during the time of childbirth. Yoga is also an effective way to relieve your body of its aches & pains.

Apart from the many physical benefits of yoga, practicing mindfulness & meditation exercises can help decrease anxiety & help you stay calm, especially during labor pain.

*Before beginning any exercise program, consult with your doctor to make sure your physical activity is safe for your pregnancy. *

As the cord blood industry’s leader in technology with our state-of-the-art automated processing & storage systems, you can trust our team to provide the best quality of services at the most affordable price point.

The AXP® II blood processor we use concentrates the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) found in the cord blood by removing the red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets & plasma from the sample. The concentrated HSCs are separated into a special freezing bag (shown in dark red) and then preserved in our cryogenic storage tanks. To put it simply, the automated AXP™ II system brings many benefits to the table over manual processing including:

- Consistent, fast, reliable concentration of stem cells.
- Superior stem cell recovery (+97% higher vs other systems)
- Reduction in processing costs (time/labor/materials)
- Protection of the stem cells in a closed environment.
- Safe transfer of concentrated stem cells into freezing bag.

All of the factors above help preserve the long-term health & viability of the stem cells. Access to this state-of-the-art automated technology is made possible thanks to our affiliated partner, ThermoGenesis, a globally trusted medical device manufacturer who develops our FDA-approved blood processor (AXP™ II) & cryogenic cell storage system (BioArchive™).

Today’s decision could be a life-saving choice tomorrow. Our team understands how important it is to preserve your family’s healthy cells. We are proud to be the only dual stem bank in the US that offers processing & storage of stem cells from the umbilical cord as well as immune cells from adults (+18).

Our team takes pride in offering our world-class services using industry-trusted automated processing & cryogenic storage technology. To learn more about company or our services, we invite you to visit our website at HealthBanks.us or give us a call at: 888-379-2670.

What kind of stem cells does Umbilical Cord Blood & Tissue have & where are they?

Umbilical cord blood is rich in a certain type of stem cell called “hematopoietic stem cells” (HSCs). Our team separates these HSCs from the cord blood. HSCs are a type of stem cell that can transform into different types of specialized cells including red blood cells, white blood cells & platelets. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) are the stem cells that we harvest from cord tissue. Both of these stem cell types hold regenerative abilities which makes them the ideal choice for collecting & preserving.

There are now over 80 diseases that are FDA-approved to be treated by cord blood-derived stem cells including: cancers (different types of Leukemias), blood cell defects (Sickle Cell Disease or Osteopetrosis), malignancies (different types of Lymphomas or Multiple Myeloma), metabolic diseases/disorders (Tay-Sachs Disease) , as well as immune diseases/disorders (Immune Dysregulation) plus many more. Research & clinical studies are continuing to expand treatment possibilities using HSCs & MSCs for life-saving applications.

In years past, the umbilical cord used to be considered medical waste. The umbilical cord blood & tissue is now recognized as an incredibly invaluable source of stem cells for your child.

For cord blood collection, once your delivery team ensures you & your new baby are safe after giving birth, they’ll have a 30-minute window to collect your newborn’s cord blood & tissue. You’ll be happy to know that the entire process is quick, painless, & non-invasive for both the mother & newborn.

If you have questions about the process, pricing or benefits of cord blood banking, call our friendly team who would be happy to help: 888-379-2670.

Our mission is to make cord blood banking accessible & affordable to every family. Combined with our Price Match Guarantee, our team makes preserving your newborn’s stem cells with the best technology a simple process at an affordable rate.

For cord blood banking, we offer a monthly subscription plan starting at just $19.99/mo. with ($150 setup), an annual storage plan where clients pay once every year, as well as our available 20 year & Lifetime storage plans. Our team takes pride in offering a variety of plans that fit every family’s needs.

To learn more about our available financing or our upgraded services including Cord Tissue Banking & Mesenchymal Stem Cell Processing, we invite you to call us: 888-379-2670.

Craving something sweet while pregnant?

Fruits are an excellent source of vitamins, nutrients, fiber, & antioxidants that are beneficial for both you & your little one growing inside of you. The natural sugars found in fruit can help minimize the nausea many women experience during pregnancy. For those feeling extra adventurous, feel free to slice & mix into your water for a naturally refreshing beverage.

The umbilical cord inside your womb serves as a lifeline for the developing baby. The umbilical cord is the connection between your baby & the placenta which transfers oxygenated & deoxygenated blood as well as other crucial nutrients. Once the baby has been delivered, the placenta & umbilical cord are disconnected.

Decades ago, the umbilical cord & placenta were considered medical waste & of no value. Through decades of science & research, we’ve learned that the umbilical cord is a treasure trove full of invaluable stem cells. What we do here at HealthBanks is separate these stem cells from the cord blood & tissue which can be used later in life as personalized medicine. To learn more, visit: https://healthbanks.us/cord-blood-tissue/.

The pregnancy journey is an incredible experience for the mother & family. As we continue our Pregnancy Development blog series, we look ahead & share what to expect during weeks 29-32.

We invite you to learn about the development inside a woman’s womb by visiting the latest blog series found here: https://healthbanks.us/blogs/

HealthBanks, the only dual stem cell & immune cell bank in the US, is celebrating a new milestone.

HealthBanks, one of the most respected cell banking networks in the world with over 110,000 private clients, celebrates 22 years of preserving stem cells for its discerning clients. The establishment of HealthBanks was the result of the vision that stem cells, through application for cell & gene therapies, would re-define modern medicine. Now, 22 years later, the company has grown to be one of the world’s most respected & leading private cell banking organizations.

HealthBanks is accredited by AABB & FDA registered for cord blood & tissue storage. HealthBanks is licensed by the State of California Department of Public Health & New York Department of Public Health. HealthBanks’ in-house laboratory is CAP Accredited. To view official press release: https://healthbanks.us/healthbanks-celebrates-22nd-year-in-business/

A healthy baby starts with healthy genes. Even if there is not a family history of a genetic condition, parents may carry a risk of passing one on to their children. As a solution, HealthBanks offers SmartParenting Genetic Testing which analyzes 255 genes & over 200 different conditions. The genetic testing is available with all of our services. For more information about our services, we can be reached at: 888-379-2670.

Did you know that HealthBanks offers rewards to people who recommend our cell banking services? When you refer a friend to bank their newborn’s stem cells or their own immune cells, your friend will get a free year of storage! As a thank you for the recommendation, we’ll send you a $150 Visa gift card!

Anyone can join our Referral Program, which is tailored for friends, birth coaches, instructors, doulas, midwives & influencers alike.

How does it work?
- Sign up for our referral program: https://healthbanks.us/referral/
- Once registered, you’ll have your very own special gift promo code that you can give to anyone.
- When they use your promo code, your friends will get a free year of storage!
- Once a month, we’ll count your code activations & send you a $150 Visa gift card for each activation.

Interested in joining our referral program? Give our team a call & we’d be happy to chat more: 888-379-2670.

Over the weekend, our team was able to sponsor & attend a local Baby Bump Brunch event! We absolutely loved meeting everyone! We’re so glad to have helped answer your great questions about cord blood banking. Thank you to everyone who stopped by & said hello! We can’t wait for the next one.