The Institute of Cell Therapy represented Ukraine at Cord Blood Connect 2021

On September 23 and 30, 2021, the World Congress of Cord Blood Connect was held in the United States, this is the main annual event in the field of biobanking and clinical use of perinatal tissues (umbilical cord, placenta, umbilical cord blood). The event was organized by the authoritative international organization Cord Blood Association, whose active member is the Institute of Cell Therapy.

The Congress was attended by both industry luminaries and representatives of major biobanks from around the world (EU, Asia, Africa, Latin America, USA). The President of the Congress was Professor Joan Kurtzberg (Duke University, USA), who performed the world’s first unrelated umbilical cord blood transplant and initiated the use of this biomaterial in pediatric neurology.

During the sessions the issues of optimizing the results of clinical use of umbilical cord blood stem cells, increasing the availability of transplants and accelerating their provision to patients, the possibility of using umbilical cord blood in leukemia in adults, the prospects of creating new cell drugs for regenerative therapy, economic aspects of cell biobanking and therapy were discussed.

A number of reports were focused on the possibilities of using umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue in the treatment of cerebral palsy. The experience of hematopoietic stem cell transplants in Japan was presented and discussed.

The Institute of Cell Therapy delivered a report “18 years experience of cord blood banking and clinical application in Ukraine”, which was presented by Dr. Christina Nasadyuk, Ph.D. This research paper of the Institute of Cell Therapy was published in the leading industry journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

New knowledge and know-how gained at Cord Blood Connect will be implemented in the activities of the Institute of Cell Therapy Cryobank.