NMDP

Dear Colleagues,

Our Cord Blood Bank Czech Republic, in cooperation with the Czech Stem Cells Registry (CSCR-Prague) has been expediting cord blood grafts since the year 2000. Until December 2008 we had no problems with transportation and all grafts were succesfully transplanted.

From  December 2008 through March 2009 we executed (except other grafts) 4 transportations to USA.
In 3 cases, problems during transportation occured. In one case, the graft was accepted for aplication and was finally transplanted.

As we have evidence, in one case surely  and in other cases very probably, that problems are happening during transportation in the territory of USA, we are cooperating with NMDP on searching and analysing these problems to be able to assure and to increase the safety of the transported grafts.

We think that  those problems may be caused by a general worsening of the quality of grafts  transportation worldwide, eventually by an  increased number of hand inspections of the parcels and consignements arriving from the countries outside USA.

Those problems are in no way related to the quality of the grafts themselves stored in our Cord Blood Bank. Our CB Units are packed and dispatched for transportation under valid SOPs and in compliance with actual regulations, ie. same way as before.

On this web page you can find a detailed information about problems during transportation including testing results of containers behaviour in substandard conditions and some of our measures and arrangements adopted for a better and safer transportation of our cord blood grafts.

Your CBB Czech Republic Team