St. Joe's Mercy Hospital partners with Karmanos on stem cell bank

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital is playing its part in pushing stem cell research forward now that it is supplying umbilical cord blood to Karmanos Cancer Institute’s J.P. McCarthy Cord Stem Cell Bank.

Umbilical cords from newborn infants are rich in blood-forming stem cells, not the controversial stem cells from embryos. These umbilical cord stem cells help people suffering from fatal diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell.

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital has been collecting the blood from the umbilical cord of newborns since June. About 100 mothers have made donations.

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital began collecting cord blood in June 2008 and approximately 100 mothers have donated their child’s cord blood. Only healthy mothers with no history of infectious disease who are giving birth to a single child (not twins or triplets) can donate.

The J.P McCarthy Cord Stem Cell Bank is located in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. The non-profit is one of only 21 internationally recognized cord stem cell banks affiliated with the National Marrow Donor Program. It houses more than 1,200 umbilical cord blood units

Source: Lauren Stokes, spokeswoman for St. Joseph Mercy Hospital
Writer: Jon Zemke
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