The Umbilical Cord Bank of Catalonia

•  The Umbilical Cord Bank of Catalonia was set up in 1995.

Umbilical cord blood remains in the placenta and blood vessels of the umbilical cord after it is separated from the newborn baby. It is usually thrown away.

However, the blood from the umbilical cord contains blood-producing stem cells that can be used in transplants for curing diseases such as leukaemia, lymphoma and bone marrow disorders which currently involve bone marrow and peripheral blood transplants.

Objectives

•  Developing a multidisciplinary project to obtain, study and store umbilical cord blood from volunteer donors.

•  R+D in the sphere of umbilical cord blood transplants

•  Cooperation with blood-producing cell transplants

•  Sustainable growth

NetCord

•  The Umbilical Cord Bank of Catalonia forms part of the NetCord network, an association of umbilical cord blood banks all over the world.

NetCord currently comprises the 15 leading umbilical cord blood banks in the world.

NetCord's aim is to make use of the synergies between the banks and to create a register of umbilical cord blood units available for hospitals wanting them for transplants.

The quality of the units stored has always been NetCord's top priority, and for this reason it has established quality standards which all its members must follow.

5th Annual Workshop Banc de Sang i Teixits Cord Blood Programme

	CONCORDIA 2008 Programme Activity Marta Torrabadella. Medical Director of Cord Blood Programme. BST
	NETCORD International Organisation Joan Garcia. Director of BST Cell Therapy and Tissue Centre and President of Netcord

Autonomous Region Donation Programme Experiences

	Balearic Island Programme. UCB Project to Obtain Mesenchymal Stem Cells Antoni Gayà. Transplant Coordinator for the Balearic Islands Autonomous Region
	Estremadura Programme. First Year Activity José Maria Brull. Director of Estremadura Blood Bank
	Aragon Programme. Presentation of CONCORDIA in Aragon José Ignacio Sánchez. Transplant Coordinator for the Aragon Autonomous Region
	Navarre Programme. 2008 Activity Juan José Unzué. Transplant Coordinator for the Navarre Autonomous Region
	Obstetric Factors that Influence Cord Blood Collection Lluís Amat. Gynecology and Obstetrics Department. Hospital Sant Joan de Déu. Barcelona
	The Carolina Cord Blood Bank (USA) Vinod K. Prasad. Attending Physician Pediatric Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Service. Duke University Medical Center. Durham NC. USA
	Cord Blood Banking in Brazil and Hospital Albert Einstein's Experience Jose Mauro Kutner. Medical Director of Hemotherapy Department. Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. São Paulo. Brazil
	The Anthony Nolan Trust Cord Blood Programme Alejandro Madrigal. Director Cordpharm. The Anthony Nolan Trust (London)
	Research Projects with The Anthony Nolan Institute (London) Sergio Querol. Coordinator Cordpharm. The Anthony Nolan Trust (London) and BST
	Implementation and Results of Continuing Education Programme (e-learning) Oriol Grau. Head of On-line Training Unit. Fundació Robert
	Pilot Plan for Traceability with RDFI Technology Antoni Batlle. Project Engineer. Appeyron
	Closing Session Roser Deulofeu. Director of Catalan Transplant Organisation (OCATT)