Calvin Cole is president of StemCyte in Covina, which stores stem cells gathered from umbilical cord blood. StemCyte has forged partnerships with many hospitals and national organizations to accept and process cord blood donations and make stem cell treatment available for patients across the country. (Sarah Reingewirtz / Staff Photographer)
COVINA - Calvin Cole likes to refer to StemCyte as "the American Red Cross of stem cells."
Housed in a 40,000-square-foot building at 1589 Industrial Park St. in Covina, StemCyte is one of the most accredited and experienced cord- blood banks in the world.
"Right now, we have more than 36,000 high-quality cord-blood units under our management," Cole said.
StemCyte has forged partnerships with many hospitals and national organizations to accept and process cord-blood donations and make cord blood available for patients across the country.
It is one of the very few family blood banks that specialize in both private banking and public banking.
So exactly what is cord blood?
Umbilical cord blood remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. It's collected because it contains stem cells that can be used to treat a variety of cancers and other genetic disorders.
But first it must be processed - and stored.
"They put in anti-coagulants and then it's manipulated," Cole said. "Some products are discarded and some additives are added to preserve the cells. Then they are frozen to 200 degrees below zero."
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StemCyte provides both public and private cord blood banking