Recordings from the
​World Cord Blood Day 2019
VirtualConference

Access to the WCBD 2019 recordings
are now closed to the public.
​----
Official Participants will have access to the recordings
until January 15th, 2020 via the Official Partcipant Login.

Welcome & Interview with ​​Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg
​(Duke Department of Pediatrics)

Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg joins us from Duke Department of Pediatrics to discuss how the use of cord blood has evolved over the past 30 years. She will highlight the numerous successes in stem cell transplants using cord blood and how this has increased access to stem cell transplants for patients in need of a match.  She will also give her advice to parents regarding cord blood banking and donation.

Introduction to Cord Blood for Parents:
​Educational Video & Lab Tour

Special educational video in collaboration with Carolinas Cord Blood Bank (a public non-profit cord blood bank): Learn the facts about cord blood, as we walk together through the lab at Carolinas Cord Blood Bank and watch Dr. Kurtzberg start the cord blood transplant process with a young child. 

Dr. Karen Ballen (University of Virginia - School of Medicine): Increasing Access to Stem Cell Transplants with Cord Blood

Dr. Ballen will discuss her research and why for those waiting for a stem cell transplant, access equals success.  By providing better access to cord blood stem cell transplants, can transplant doctors increase the odds of success for their patients? ​

Alexes Harris, Ph.D : Interview with a Cord Blood Recipient (received donated cord blood)

Alexes Harris was devastated when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Rather than settling for a less than optimal bone marrow match, Dr. Filippo Milano at Fred Hutch introduced Alexes to another option with better outcomes: a stem cell transplant from donated umbilical cord blood. Discover Alexes’ amazing journey to recovery.​

Case Studies in Healthcare Logistics: Interview with Dave Monroe & Monroe Burgess and Meet the Inspiring Partners

Time is always critical for the transport of organs and cord blood units; however, many other criteria must be met along the way. Learn how Quick Specialized Healthcare Logistics (Official Sponsor of World Cord Blood Day 2019) works behind the scenes and discover how the team responded on 9/11 when air traffic in the US was brought to an immediate halt. Also, meet the Inspiring Partners of World Cord Blood Day 2019.  

Welcome to the Afternoon Session & Educating the Next Generation: Meet the Interns at Save the Cord Foundation

A short welcome by Charis Ober (Save the Cord Foundation), introducing the afternoon spearkers and the interns at Save the Cord Foundation. Today’s students are tomorrow’s doctors, nurses, lawmakers and parents. We owe it to them to educate them on cord blood’s vital role as a medical resource. Meet the interns from Save the Cord Foundation at the University of Arizona who play an active role in educating their peers and the public at large.

Dr. Wise Young (Rutgers University & WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience): Update on Clinical Trials Using Cord Blood in the Potential Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury

In this interview, Dr. Wise Young will walk us through the latest advances in his research to potentially treat chronic spinal cord injury with a combination of cord blood stem cells and lithium. He will also address the potential use of cord blood units that are sometimes rejected by public banks simply because they are too small for traditional transplant use. He explains why even the smallest quantities of cord blood are precious.​  

Dr. Elizabeth Shpall (MD Anderson Cancer Center): Focus on Cord Blood-Derived Cellular Therapies

In this presentation, Dr. Elizabeth Shpall will highlight recent advances in cord blood expansion and cord blood-derived cellular therapy. She will discuss how these advances have influenced her own work and go in-depth regarding her own clinical research using cord blood tissue MSCs. She will review why and how cord blood tissue could be used and why it may be superior to MSCs sourced from bone marrow.  

Dr. Filippo Milano (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center): Update on Clinical Trials for Cord Blood Expansion & Potential Use to Treat/Cure HIV

In this brief interview, Dr. Filippo Milano reviews successes from recent clinical trials and highlights new international co-operative efforts between his team at Fred Hutch and Dr. Guy Sauvageu from the IRIC in Canada.  He will also discuss the recently launched ground-breaking clinical trial he is leading to study the potential use of cord blood to cure/prevent HIV.   

Luke Fryer & his family: Interview with a Cord Blood Recipient (Treated for Cerebral Palsy with his Own Family Banked Cord Blood)

Luke’s parents had no idea if they would ever use their child’s privately banked cord blood. They just knew that what they did for one child, they would do for all their children. It was a choice they did not regret. Luke was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after missing many of his milestones as a baby. His parents put their hope in cord blood and a clinical trial being led at the time by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg when Luke was 18 months old.  Now, Luke is a thriving, active 10-year-old. Watch Luke in action! (Hint: he loves basketball!) 

Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg (Duke Department of Pediatrics): Update on Clinical Trials Using Cord Blood for Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Krabbe, Stroke and more

Dr. Kurtzberg’s research has focused on children with selective inborn errors of metabolism. Her work has shown that cord blood cells, administered intravenously after myeloablative therapy engraft in the brain. In addition, DUOC-01, a cord blood derived cellular therapy that promotes myelination, is undergoing testing to augment standard umbilical cord blood treatment in children with leukodystrophies.  In this presentation, Dr. Kurtzberg will discuss her on-going research using cord blood to potentially treat autism, cerebral palsy and stroke.  She also will explore the potential use of DUOC-1 and highlight the importance of quality control considering the numerous new potential clinical applications of cord blood.