CORDSAVINGS - Swiss Center of Stem Cell Excellence
How long can Cord Blood Stem Cells be stored?
Almost indefinitely but ... not anywhere naturally!
At CORDSAVINGS' Stem Cell laboratory in Switzerland our cutting-edge cryogenic technology allows us to freeze during 50 years (vs only 25 years for most others biobanks).
The Stem Cell Laboratory (video in french)
The CordSavings' laboratory situates at the Swiss biotechnology BioArk site since 2012.
Dedicated to life sciences, this site is constantly evolving (nearly 35 million Swiss francs in investment have been allocated to a vast programme to extend the capacities of the biotechnological platform since 2014) and is supervised by the prestigious public Swiss Foundation "The Ark".
The best companies active in the different biotechnological domains of bioinformatics and regenerative medicine are represented here, all complementary to each other and carefully hand-picked. They thus bring together laboratories, equipment and services that meet the highest levels of requirements and seriousness identifiable today.
As such our laboratory is the "biobanking pillar" of BioArk, absolutely central to the whole range of activities at this major Swiss biotechnology hub.
Our cord blood and cord tissue laboratory places the high quality standards that meet the requirements as laid down by transplant legislation in Switzerland ("Swiss Transplantation Ordinance RS 810'211 of 16 March 2007 amended on 1 January 2013").
Even beyond these conditions, our code of conduct and our ethics in this regard are constant and unwavering: We intend to treat our biological family samples according to the same standards and criteria that are required in the field of public biobanking.
- The equipment in the CordSaving laboratory is based on the most recent technological advances and, for the most part, made in Switzerland in order to ensure the most reliable continuity of service possible.
- Once cord blood units are delivered to the Monthey cell laboratory they are then analysed, miniaturised and processed in order to optimise both the capacity and the quality of future transplants.
- The validation of cord blood (determining the aptitude of the donation in the interest of a future recipient) is carried out internally after a series of biological investigations each individually calibrated and specific to each sample received.
- Depending on the type of sample processed and the source conditions, these investigations can particularly concern extensive analyses such as: virus serology, blood type, bacteriology, measuring the quality and viability of nucleated cells, PCR tests, HLA typing, FACS analyses, etc.
- Should samples require analyses or investigations outside the standard and custom internal processing at CordSavings, these will be immediately carried out by large specialised laboratories in the local area, each specifically accredited to this effect by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health Authority (FOPH).
- At the end of the stem cell sample processing, the controlled-rate freezing and final cryopreservation are carried out (in nitrogen gas tanks) in order to completely secure the processed biological units for a duration of up beyond 25 years.
All of the CordSavings' laboratory staff have many years of experience in the field of neonatal stem cells and pharmaceuticals, and ensure a constant and close surveillance of the samples in their care.
Convinced by this unique expertise, 2 of the "top 3" European leaders in neonatal stem cell storage has already joined our biotechnology platform dedicated to cord blood so that we can secure its most demanding samples in the very long term.
CORDSAVINGS – independent SWISS family-owned company
Marriage of SCIENCE and TRADITION