The partnership between Next Biosciences and the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) has opened the gates of medical possibility to all South Africans.
As the longest standing Private Stem Cell Bank in Africa, Netcells, the Stem Cell Banking Service of Next Biosciences, has been safeguarding the private storage of cord blood for 19 years. However, the realisation that South Africa was one of the few countries without a Public Cord Blood Bank, prompted Next Biosciences into advocating wider access.
Armed with our signature “anything is possible” attitude-as well as a passionate vision to constantly evolve, serve humanity and collaborate for the greater good- Next Biosciences partnered with SABMR in 2021 and South Africa’s first Community Stem Cell Bank was born.
Governed by an advisory board of health professionals to uphold the highest standards of policy and procedure, this project bridges the gap between private and public healthcare and serves to benefit those in need of stem cell therapy.
According to recent research1, this need corresponds to a global average of 84 000 stem cell transplants per year, which is likely to increase at an annual rate of 10-15%, as medical advancement reveals new applications for stem cell treatment.2
Cord blood: a miracle in 100ml
Both the cost and invasive nature of harvesting stem cells from adult bone marrow, make it a challenging option for many patients seeking stem cell therapy.
Conversely, collecting 80-150ml of umbilical cord blood at birth is a painless procedure..
Private storage of cord blood allows parents to exclusively retain biologically matched stem cells in case of their children’s’ future need, which in many cases, ceases to arise.
The potential loss of opportunity from unused banked stem cells served as the catalyst for Next Biosciences to create
The odds of finding a match
Although SABMR has 78 000 registered stem cell donors, they predict the odds of finding a match to be approximately 1 in 100 000 and this probability drops to 1 in 400 000 for mixed race and ethnic minorities.
Since there is a greater likelihood of finding a stem cell match from a donor within the same ethnic background, it would be ideal for the diversity of donors to represent the diversity of the country.
Donor representation in South Africa is 65% White, 11% Black, 10% Asian/Indian, 9% Coloured, and 5% Unknown/Other.
Although SABMR has access to an international database of 40 million registered donors worldwide, fostering support on local shores is not only a key component for improved donor match-outcomes, it also impacts the fundamental element of affordability, as the cost of bringing in a cord blood sample from overseas can be prohibitive.
Further reinforcing the need for broader donor support, SABMR estimates that a family match only materialises for approximately 30% of patients, whilst 70% remain reliant on finding an external match.
Improving the accessibility of stem cell treatment to all South Africans, Next Biosciences gives two options to every Netcells client:
1. Private Stem Cell Banking
- Storage options for 10 or 20 years.
- Storage is exclusively for private use.
- The cost of storage is for private account.
- When the storage period expires, clients have the option to extend private storage, or to donate their sample to the SABMR (T&C’s apply).
2. Community Stem Cell Banking
- Storage options for 10 years at a reduced rate.
- Stem cells are ‘tissue typed’ before storage and registered with SABMR.
- Stem cells are available for private and external use.
- If stored stem cells provide a match to an external search within SABMR and are signed over for transplant- the original cost of storage will be reimbursed to the client by Next Biosciences.
For more detail and information on the exclusion criteria for community banking, click here.
The merits of community support
Every time that a client chooses the Netcells Community Bank, it means that their stored cord blood holds the potential to protect the health of someone else - as well as their own.
Community banking serves to improve the pool of diversity amoung South African stem cell donors and will thereby improve the general frequency of finding a successful stem cell match.
Furthermore, umbilical cord stem cells require a less stringent tissue match than those drawn from adult blood or bone marrow, which require a perfect match. Thus, when a stem cell transplant is the only chance for a patient’s survival, the extended database offered by the Netcells Community Bank is invaluable.
References:
- https://lifesciencesintelligence.com/features/preparing-patients-for-stem-cell-transplants-challenges
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12430889/