#SquadGoals: 6^th World Cord Blood Day Celebration in the Philippines

PHILIPPINES: In commemoration of World Cord Blood Day 2022 in November, Cordlife Philippines organized a series of events to raise awareness of cord blood and its potential to treat more than 80 life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, blood disorders, and genetic diseases.

Three Cordlife moms, Grace Carillo, Camille Prats-Yambao, and Dimples Romana-Ahmee, kicked off the event via Instagram Live by sharing how they met their #squadgoals during their pregnancies and their cord blood banking journeys with Cordlife. Following that, fellow Cordlife mom Iya Villania-Arellano was invited to have a heart-to-heart conversation with Cordlife Philippines Medical Director, Dr. Arvin C. Faundo, to shed light on the benefits and developments of cord blood banking.

Cordlife Philippines' CEO Michael Arnonobal concluded the webinar with exciting news about Cordlife ALLIANCE, the country's first community banking program, which enables Cordlife’s clients to assist another Cordlife family in need of a cord blood unit by giving them immediate access to a genetically diverse pool of cord blood units from members in other Asian countries.

Cordlife Indonesia and Kalbe Subsidiary to Strengthen Stem Cell Development Collaboration

INDONESIA: Cordlife Indonesia's CEO, Ms. Retno Suprihatin, and her team visited the facility of one of their strategic partners, PT Bifarma Adiluhung, a subsidiary of PT Kalbe Farma Tbk (Kalbe), in November 2022 to discuss ways to strengthen their collaboration. Since 2015, Cordlife Indonesia has been working with Regenic, a division of PT Bifarma Adiluhung, to harvest stem cells from stored umbilical cord lining or cord tissue.

Dr. Sandy Qlintang, Director of PT Bifarma Adiluhung, started the meeting by taking the Cordlife team on a tour of Regenic's cGMP stem cell processing facility at the Kalbe Business Innovation Center (KBIC). They also discussed other potential collaborations to advance stem cell research in Indonesia.

"Cordlife hopes that the ongoing collaboration with PT Bifarma Adiluhung, which has been running well so far, can help more families, especially Cordlife’s clients, with stem cell therapy options in the future.," said Ms. Retno Suprihatin.

CORDLIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu
is Cordlife India's new ambassador

INDIA: Bipasha Basu, a well-known Bollywood actress, has been appointed as Cordlife India's brand ambassador and is featured in India's latest brand campaign, #MaaBanneKiPehliZimmedaari, to educate parents about the importance of stem cell banking.

A mother's instinct is to protect her child and ensure his or her safety and security. Through the voice of Bipasha Basu, who has taken the first step to protect her child, we hope more parents in India will store their newborn's valuable cord blood with Cordlife at the time of birth.

UPDATES AROUND THE WORLD

Newborn screening gives babies a chance to live a healthier and happier life

Johnsonville, USA: Brittany Morris was overjoyed to welcome her second child into the world. Though baby James was perfect in his mother's eyes, doctors were able to identify an underlying health problem in him thanks to a newborn screening program mandated by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). 

As part of the newborn screening, baby James had blood drawn from his heel in order to screen for disorders that were not apparent. He was diagnosed with Pompe disease after his test results repeatedly revealed abnormalities. This disease is passed down from parent to child and can be fatal, depending on how bad it is and how fast it gets worse. The test made an early diagnosis possible and allowed doctors to begin treatment as soon as possible to improve his recovery chances.

“James actually has what we call late-onset Pompe disease because he didn't develop cardiac symptoms. In the classic infantile-onset, these babies usually present at about 4 or 5 months with cardiac failure and significant muscle weakness, and without treatment, these babies used to die in the first or second year of life. Catching it early, we’re able to put them on enzyme replacement therapy, giving them back the enzyme that their body isn’t able to produce," said Neena Champaigne, M.D., chief of the MUSC Genetics and Genomics Integrated Centers of Clinical Excellence.

There is no cure for this condition right now, so James will have to keep getting enzyme therapy for the rest of his life. His mother is still hopeful that one day a cure will be found so that James will not have to get infusions every two weeks and can live his life to the fullest.

The SCDHEC newborn screening program screens for 54 disorders, including spinal muscular atrophy, which was added in September last year. Three more conditions are expected to be added in 2023.

Cordlife also offers a variety of safe and non-invasive newborn screening tests to help you detect conditions that are not apparent at the onset. Put your mind at ease by getting your child checked out so you can take steps to delay, manage, or even prevent the onset of the conditions.

Article and image retrieved on 13 January 2023, https://web.musc.edu/about/news-center/2022/09/22/from-panic-over-results-of-newborn-screening-to-gratitude-for-the-early-diagnosis

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