Health

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank and its program at South Miami Hospital are being featured on CNN en Espanol's show "Salud." This story on the importance of cord blood donation aired this week and can be seen Friday, February 5 at 9:30 a.m. EST and Sunday, February 7 at 9 a.m. EST and 3 p.m. EST on CNN en Espanol. Additionally, the story can be viewed at www.corduse.com by clicking on this press release on the front page.

"As CNN en Espanol broadcasts all around the world, we are very pleased that this cord blood news piece will help build awareness of the importance of cord blood donation in the Hispanic community," says CORD:USE President and CEO Edward S. Guindi, M.D. "This is particularly helpful as the Hispanic and Latino community will benefit from greater representation in the national cord blood inventory and bone marrow registries."

Cord blood is the stem cell rich blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following the birth of a baby. Cord blood can help to save the lives of critically ill patients and has been used for transplantation in more than 16,000 patients with over 70 life-threatening diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, thalassemia, and sickle cell anemia. Cord blood is a non-controversial source of stem cells and has widespread religious and governmental support.

There is an urgent need to increase the public inventory of cord blood units to find suitable matches for patients in need of a transplant, particularly units donated from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Because the markers used in matching potentially lifesaving cord blood and bone marrow are inherited, patients are more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. Adding more cord blood units from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the National Marrow Donor Program's Be The Match Registry(R) increases the likelihood that all patients will find the match they need.

About CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank
CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank, headquartered in Orlando, Florida is creating a large, ethnically diverse, high quality inventory of available cord blood stem cell units for the many patients in need of a potentially life-saving transplant. CORD:USE has assembled a team of world leaders in the field of cord blood banking and transplantation. CORD:USE has entered into agreements with hospitals across the country to provide mothers the option to donate their babies' cord blood. CORD:USE makes these cord blood units available to transplanters throughout the country and around the world, as a critical component in their patients' treatment. CORD:USE is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy ("FACT") and lists all of its units on the National Marrow Donor Program's Registry. CORD:USE has also been selected by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health as one of the high quality cord blood banks to build the federally supported National Cord Blood Inventory. For more information, visit www.corduse.com.

SOURCE CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank