CordBank NZ is the proud caretaker of precious cord blood stem cells belonging to thousands of babies throughout New Zealand, stored in case they may one day be needed for a life-changing or lifesaving medical treatment. Celebrating 20 years in business, co-founder Jenni Raynish sits down with Verve.
Jenni first learned about the regenerative powers of cord blood stem cells when pregnant with her second daughter, not long after her father died from a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
Determined to do everything she could to prevent her child from suffering like her father, Jenni decided to bank her baby’s cord blood should her child ever need her stem cells to help treat a serious illness or injury. She was extremely disappointed, however, to discover that there was no such service in New Zealand, despite it being widely available in other countries, and no way to get her baby’s cord blood to an overseas lab in time for it to be viable. “It just seemed so straightforward, to use these perfect, brand new backup cells to help fix something that may go wrong later in life,” says Jenni. “I couldn’t let go of wanting parents to be able to store cord blood here in New Zealand, close at hand, protected by New Zealand law, and ready should their child need it.”
Sharing her frustration with her obstetrician – who agreed such an option should absolutely exist in New Zealand – they decided to make it happen. “Combining her medical expertise with my commercial experience,” says Jenni, “we embarked on a lengthy process involving mountains of official paperwork to make our vision a reality.” Their perseverance paid off when they were granted a license from the Ministry of Health to manufacture medicine, under the recognition that the cord blood stem cells saved are stored for medical use in future. Two decades on, CordBank New Zealand is the only company licensed to collect and store cord blood in New Zealand, and is audited annually by Medsafe, the most stringent level of quality applied to cord blood facilities globally.
What makes cord blood stem cells (found in the umbilical cord at birth) so powerful, is that they’re brand new, undamaged by the ageing process and pollutants we’re exposed to over time, and a perfect DNA match.
“Those stem cells are a perfect match to you,” says Jenni. “Think about it like photocopying. We’re born as this perfect, crystal-clear image, but with age, the image becomes paler and more faded. Adding more stem cells is basically a reboot, because those cells don’t dissipate, they divide and replicate.”
The exact DNA match also means they won’t be rejected by the individual’s system if they’re used in medical treatment, and they can even be a good match for siblings also, with a 50% chance of half a match.
“Cord blood stem cells are superior to bone marrow stem cells which rely on finding a donor who’s an exact match. It’s time-consuming and involves a painful extraction process, plus the cells are much older, and there’s a risk of rejection when transplanted.”
What makes cord blood stem cells so powerful, is that they’re brand new, undamaged by the ageing process and pollutants we’re exposed to over time, and a perfect DNA match.
Cord blood stem cell transplants have been helping save lives since 1988 when the first procedure took place in France. Since then, there have been more than 40,000 transplants for numerous conditions globally. Currently, cord blood stem cells are used to help treat a variety of illnesses, injuries, diseases and degenerative conditions, with newer therapies in clinical trials. “The exciting part now,” says Jenni “is seeing the emerging studies that cord blood stem cells are being used in, and looking towards a future where they’ll be able to help people even more.”
While there’s investment involved in retrieving the cord blood stem cells and keeping them stored, it’s not as expensive as many think, and interest-free payment plans make it more feasible. The initial cost is $2,100, with an annual storage fee of $225. Over the years, banking cord blood has also become a popular gift from the grandparents. “Many grandparents see it as a legacy gift,” says Jenni. “Something that they can pay for what will outlast their lives and be there for the whole of their grandchild’s lives. There’s no downside.”
Having devoted the last 20 years to providing this service to Kiwi families, Jenni is humbled by the difference cord blood stem cells have made to those who’ve already used them.
“It makes all the hard work worth it. Of course, the best outcome is not needing to use cord blood stem cells at all, but for many of our CordBank families, just knowing that they have it stored is a way they can help future-proof their child’s health, and put their minds at ease.”
CordBank NZ Cord Blood Stem Cell Collection Process:
- Parents register online during pregnancy and receive their collection kit via courier to take with them to the birth
- The obstetrician or midwife collects the cord blood soon after birth in a completely painless process.
- A dedicated courier company collects the cord blood kit and takes it to CordBank’s state-of-the-art lab in Auckland where it’s cryopreserved for storage until its needed.
For more information: 0800 CORDBANK
cordbank.co.nz
