Edmonton takes key role in national cord-blood bank

The Lois Hole Hospital for Women will play an integral role in a new national initiative to build up supplies of umbilical cord blood.

Canadian Blood Services officially launched its national public cordblood bank Thursday, a project designed to provide a source of stem cells that reflect the country’s ethnic diversity. The bank will draw donated newborn cord-blood samples from five Canadian hospitals, including the Lois Hole facility at the Royal Alex.

Samples will be sent to Canadian Blood Services facilities in Edmonton and Ottawa, which will test, process and freeze individual units of cord blood. The units can be stored indefinitely.

Placental and umbilical cord blood are rich sources of blood-forming stem cells that can be used in the treatment of more than 80 diseases and disorders, including cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.