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economist sunsuntribune saturday sept 4 2004 staff photochris traber cells for life scientific director peter hollands said the opening of the the first time a medical firm finances a public laboratory victoria angel centre a public cord blood bank this autumn will mark stem cell storage soes by chris traber staff writer- cells for life a private markhambased cord blood bank will launch a public subsidiary to make life saving umbilical stem cell technology available to a larg er segment of the community established in 1997 at the markham stouffville health cen tre gells for life is canadas sec ond largest private cord blood bank with the opening of the vic toria angel centre this autumn the medical firm will be the first to finance a public laboratory the new centre named for a child whose umbilical cord blood was used to save the life of her can cer stricken mother will process and store public samples giving terminally ill children and adults access to this lifesaving resource it will share cells for lifes offices the new centre as its name sake symbolizes hope cells for life scientific director peter hol lands said the victoria angel centre will take blood samples at no charge from people who dp not want to store privately said dr hollands an academic from cambridge university on a twoyear sabbati cal assignment with cells for life the public centre will offer tissue type information and release sam- pies to whomever may need it whereas private samples are the exclusive property of the donor were a medically based com pany were not in business to make big dollars our priority is to help dr hollands said were a medically based company were not in business to make big dollars our priority is to help a rejatively new medical advent the first cord blood trans plant took place in 1988 since then more than 3000 cord blood transplants have been performed to treat 45 different diseases at birth blood remains in the placenta and umbilical cord cord blood is rich with the babys stem cells these master cells are building blocks of bone marrow and continuously replicate into the cells of the blood and immune systems in adults stem cells reside exclusively in bone marrow and can only be collected by intru sive and painful biopsy researchers discovered the cord blood in quantities from 100 to 200 millilitres can be harvested easily and painlessly the stem cells are isolated mixed with a protective media then frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen at 196 c typically 200 ml of cord blood will contain about 30 billion cells dr hollands said of those about 1 per cent would be stems cells once they are frozen they are in suspended animation cryopre- served cells have been stored for 15 years thawed and transplanted successfully its anticipated they could be stored for 50 to 60 years banked cord blood stem cells are a viable alternative to those from bone marrow they are used in reconstituting diseased or depleted bone marrow resulting from conditions such as leukemia sickle cell anemia and other life- threatening blood and immune system disorders the transplanti ng of stem cells is particularly effective for patients after exten sive chemotherapy or radiation the side effect of high dose chemotherapy is destruction of the bone marrow dr hollands said with cord blood doctors can be very aggressive in their treatment to destroy the cancer once done bone marrow can be recovered with this procedure cord blood sterns cells are a guaranteed perfect tissue match for the child from whom the cells were obtained potentially they may be a perfect match for siblings and other members of the imme diate family accordingly should the original donor require a stem cell transplant they would have immediate access to a match while avoiding lengthy searches for a bone marrow donor with a suitable tissue type cells for life founded by markham fertility centre medical director dr michael virro safe guards more than 7000 samples for private clients staffed seven days per week the facility houses a laboratory offices arid a cryogenic storage facility with 24 hour moni toring stem cell research suggests potential cures for a range of ill ness including diabetes autoim mune diseases parkinsons dis ease and alzheimers disease it may also be the basis for future nerve and muscle regeneration therapies cells for life charges 625 for a blood collection kit processing and die first year of storage annu al storage fees are 100 optionally 15year storage is 1200 for information call 9054720060 or visit wwwcellsforiifecom united way sets lofty 675mgoal by mike adler staff writer the united way of york region will seek bigger donations and first- time workplace campaigns this fall to raise 675 million for local char ities its campaign goal announced last weekend at a dragon boat festi val in king township is 8 per cent higher than last years still the united ways 41 mem ber agencies say its what they need to stay afloat the reason its so aggressive is it has to be said garth issett an ibm global services vicepresi dent and the campaigns volunteer chairperson for the second straight year add inflation to the regions growth rateof about 5 per cent a year and an 8percent increase becomes necessary said the new market resident who previously headed the united ways power house technology division the kickoff event at the king campus of seneca college raised 65000 and drew more than 1000 people but the regions united way now faces its annual struggle to convince people to place their charity dollars at home and serve needs often overlooked in an affluent region mr issett said he and his senior campaign executives willask past donors to contribute more but the united ways real growth opportu nity is in companies that have never run a fundraising campaign if they find out about us they hear our message ceo rahul bhardwaj said that message has changed a little he acknowledged instead of asking people to give only for altruistic reasons the united way now encourages giving as an investment in peoples communi ties and as a way of addressirig problems before they grow mr rahul said its ok to talk about giving to strengthen your neighbourhoods and your own familys future the organization launched a chinese community council headed by retired banker solomon yiu last month to strengthen its relationship with yorks largest vis ible minority group more is available on the united way web site wwwuwyronca e3sl get biodiesel driven at topia unionville propane get biodiesel driven learn more at our free seminar biodiesel and canadas first biodiesel station is located near you in markhamunionvie smwarbi jl jtvjlli jly mm meat coupon with rverv fill beyond alternative energy solutions for home business and travel 7pm tuesday september 2 1st at mccowan market upstairs at loblaws 200 bullock dr mccowan call 9057521300 9am5pm or email infoalternatenrgcom to register now seating is limited for more information on biodiesel locations 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