Cordlife supports clinical trials with donated umbilical cords and mesenchymal stem cell banking service in the Philippines

Cordlife Supports Clinical Trials with Donated Umbilical Cords and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Banking Service in the Philippines

SINGAPORE: Cordlife Group Limited (Cordlife, together with its subsidiaries, the Group) today announced their full support for the Center for Regenerative Medicine of Makati Medical Center (MMC-CRM or the Center) with the provision of donated cords and the launch of Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) Banking Service in the Philippines through its subsidiary Cordlife Medical Phils Inc. (Cordlife Philippines or the Company).

MMC-CRM is accredited by the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) as a facility allowed to engage in human stem cell or cellular therapy. The Center has implemented a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of umbilical cord tissue-derived MSCs for diabetic foot ulceration. Funded by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCHRD-DOST), the trial aims to investigate whether MSCs can speed up the healing of foot wounds among diabetic patients and stimulate skin regeneration and development of new blood vessels. MMC-CRM has also proposed another trial with umbilical cord tissue-derived MSCs for COVID-19, which is pending approval from PCHRD-DOST.

To support MMC-CRM’s research efforts, Cordlife Philippines will provide donated umbilical cords for the trials. At the same time, Cordlife Philippines will also launch a banking service for the storage of MSCs derived from umbilical cord tissue. Cordlife Philippines is the first and only cord blood bank in the country to provide MSC banking service.

Ms Tan Poh Lan, Group Chief Executive Officer of Cordlife said, “We are honoured to be a part of MMC-CRM’s groundbreaking research efforts to advancing healthcare in the Philippines. We are fully committed to supporting them in the building of a holistic ecosystem to advance stem cell research and develop cellular therapies.”

“The umbilical cord is a great source of MSCs. MMC-CRM has been fortunate to be awarded with a scientific research grant by PCHRD-DOST on the use of umbilical cord MSCs for diabetic foot ulcer. This is proof that the Philippine government is interested in the potential of MSC treatments,” said Dr Jose Maria Co Avila, Director of MMC-CRM and Chairman of Department of Pathology and Laboratories, Makati Medical Center.

Cordlife Presents Super Easy Confinement Recipe Videos in Collaboration with Spice N’ Pans and Singapore's Baby Whisperer - Dr Wong Boh Boi

SINGAPORE: During this difficult COVID-19 situation, many new parents are challenged with the shortage of confinement help in Singapore. To help new parents get through times as such, we have collaborated with Spice N' Pans, a popular Singapore YouTube channel and Singapore's very own baby whisperer, Dr Wong Boh Boi to come up with four confinement food recipe videos.

Watch the videos to learn how to cook mouthwatering confinement dishes such as Green Papaya Fish Soup and Ginger Fried Rice, using very easy-to-follow steps. You can also get valuable tips from Dr Wong on what to do and look out for during your confinement period. Share these videos with your friends who may also find them useful.

Watch Video Now

Celebrity MOMbassador Iya Villania Welcomed Baby Girl

PHILIPPINES: Please join us to congratulate television host and actress, Iya Villania, on the arrival of her third child, baby Alana in August. Cordlife Philippines is honored to be entrusted with the precious cord blood and cord lining of all her children.

"This is the best investment that I have made for all my children - a lifetime protection for my family by banking their cord blood and cord lining with Cordlife. " said Iya.

StemLife Launches Clinically Approved Non-invasive Prenatal Testing in Malaysia

MALAYSIA: StemLife has partnered with Eone-Diagnomics Genome Center ("EDGC"), an internationally certified laboratory in South Korea, to offer non-invasive prenatal testing ("NIPT") in Malaysia.

NIPT is a relatively new and highly accurate prenatal screening test that analyses foetal DNA in the mother's blood for potential foetal chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. The test has an accuracy of over 99% and expectant mothers can be tested from the 10th week of gestation through a simple a safe blood draw.

All the blood samples will be sequenced at EDGC's CAP-accredited laboratory in South Korea. The data derived will be analysed by a CLIA-certified AI driven cloud-based NIPT bioinformatics system in the United States. The service is available for prescription through most obstetricians in Malaysia.

REAL STORIES AROUND THE WORLD

10 Years Later: The First Boy Who Had Open-Heart Surgery with His Own Cord Blood

Image retrieved on 21 Sept 2020, https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/news/ilyas-cord-blood-story

UKRAINE: 10 years ago, while still in his mother's womb, Ilya was diagnosed with congenital heart defects. Svitlana, Ilya's mother, was advised to terminate the pregnancy but she was determined to find a way to keep her child. After much searching, she finally found a hospital that could perform a surgery on Ilya's heart using his own cord blood.

Ilya's cord blood was collected at birth and he had an open-heart surgery shortly after. Instead of relying on donor blood, Ilya's cord blood was used to provide circulation through the heart-lung machine. The surgery was a success and Ilya was observed to recover faster than other children who went through similar surgeries. Today, 10-year-old Ilya is a normal healthy kid, all thanks to his mother's will to save him.

“Now I don't even want to remember the pain and fear we had to endure," Svitlana admits. "I only advise everyone I know to store umbilical cord blood to take care of the protection of children."