Free Press Lions beat writer Dave Birkett answers your Twitter questions in a video mailbag June 26, 2017, before summer vacation.

Detroit Lions linebacker Paul Worrilow with daughters Juliet, left, and Rowan, right.(Photo: Paul Worrilow)

Paul Worrilow has a great back story.

The veteran linebacker, who signed with the Lions in March, was undrafted out of Delaware.

He made the Atlanta Falcons, against all odds.

Cracked the starting lineup, against all odds.

Became the teams leading tackler, against all odds.

Stuck around for four seasons, against all odds.

But theres more.

Its a story about being selfless and thinking about others. Its a story that should be repeated, if only to inspire others to follow his lead.

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Detroit Lions CBs coach: Interceptions 'will come' for Darius Slay

And it started with a simple cheek swab.

Its so simple, Worrilow said.

When Worrilow was a sophomore at Delaware, he joined the Be The Match Foundation Registry, hoping to become a bone marrow donor.

Four months later, he was matched with a 23-year-old woman with leukemia.

Worrilow donated peripheral blood stem cells to the woman, although he doesnt know what happened to her. He doesnt know her name. He never has met her.

Its so simple, Worrilow said. They do a cheek swab. You get put in the database. If you match somebody, there are two ways to do it. You can donate actual bone marrow or do it like I did, peripheral blood stem cells.

Lions linebacker Paul Worrilow takes part in OTAs on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at the Allen Park practice facility.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)

About one in 40 registry members will be called for additional testing.

About one in 300 will be selected as the best possible donor for a patient.

And about one in 430 on the registry go on to donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells.

Odds are, you never will be asked to donate.

But you just might give somebody hope.

Its so simple, Worrilow said. Its not painful. Its a small part of your time, to have a great impact, a tremendous impact on another person and their family. Its a no-brainer. You can have a great impact at such a small cost to yourself.

Worrilow is on a mission to let people know about it: The cool part about it is being able to share it (with people) who are ignorant to the process and their ability to help other people. Encouraging people. People who just dont know what Be The Match Foundation is. Or how you can help people with blood cancers, or how you can join.

Worrilow signed with the Lions during the off-season.

This team is tremendous, Worrilow said. The family-oriented vibe here. From the head coach, from the ownership on down, you can feel it. Its a family vibe. They look after you, care for you.

In June, during minicamp, Worrilow played weak-side linebacker. But he can also play in the middle.

Its going good, he said. There is a lot of competition. The team is great that way, pushing each other. Any action I can get on the field is exciting. When youre winning games, and everyones in here practicing hard, its just awesome.

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Worrilow has a track record for good tackling, but he has been criticized for his inability to cover.

If (the criticism) is there, its probably there for a reason, he said. Criticism, if it doesnt come from a bad place, it is probably warranted. And thats something I have to improve on. Thats with all parts of my game. I dont feel like I have played my best football yet.

Worrilow said he is adjusting to the Lions defense, making defensive calls.

Compared to the other places Ive played, there is a bigger volume of calls, he said. Thats something I like. Both linebackers do it. One guy has the indicator, but if you are not out there talking, you arent going to be out there.

And now, as he takes time off before training camp, he feels confident about himself and this team.

I dont feel like I could be in a better place, life-wise, work-wise, everything, he said. Its an encouraging place to come in and work every day. The linebacker group is awesome. Its young. Its competitive. Thats what you want.

So, this guy keeps breaking the odds.

Sticking in the NFL. And trying to use that platform to help others.

Trying to raise awareness.

Trying to encourage people to make a difference.

Trying to break the odds.

Help us, Detroit Lions: You are Detroit sports fans' only hope right now

For new Detroit Lions LB Paul Worrilow, dad duties come first

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.

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Detroit Lions' Paul Worrilow has beaten odds, inspires others to help - Detroit Free Press

Fiona Geekie, a nurse from Croydon who is apractitioner for TheCentral London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, donated bone marrow to a person she had never met earlier this year.

According to Fiona (49), about 2,000 people in the UK require a bone marrow or stem cell transplant every year.

For most of them its their last chance of surviving blood cancer, she added.

The nurse, who is a member of the Merton enhanced rapid intervention team,described why she went on the register to donate through the Anthony Nolan Trust 15 years ago.

Three quarters cant find a matching donor in their family so rely upon the generosity of a complete stranger already on the bone marrow register. So I joined up, it was simple.

Last Christmas Fiona was called for blood tests as she was a possible match for someone.

I was surprised to be called in the first place and I must confess I was a little apprehensive, Fiona admitted.

However, she continued: But then I thought what if someone in my family needed a bone marrow transplant. Its the most fantastic gift you can give to total stranger.

After donating, Fiona said she felt quite emotional and wanted the recipient to get well again.

She concluded: Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I have no hesitation in recommending all young people aged 16-30 to consider joining the bone marrow donor register.

See the article here:
Nurse goes the extra mile and donates bone marrow to a complete stranger through the Anthony Nolan Trust - Sutton Guardian

Honghao Zhang,1,2 Satoshi Komasa,1 Chiho Mashimo,3 Tohru Sekino,4 Joji Okazaki1

1Department of Removable Prosthodontics and Occlusion, Osaka Dental University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan; 2Department of Stomatology, Nanfang Hospital and College of Stomatology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 3Department of Bacteriology, Osaka Dental University, Hirakata, 4The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan

Purpose: Alkali-treated titanium with nanonetwork structures (TNS) possesses good osteogenic activity; however, the resistance of this material to bacterial contamination remains inadequate. As such, TNS implants are prone to postoperative infection. In this work, we attempted to alter the biological properties of TNS by treatment with short-duration high-intensity ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Methods: TNS discs were treated with UV light (wavelength =254 nm, strength =100 mW/cm2) for 15 minutes using a UV-irradiation machine. We carried out a surface characterization and evaluated the discs for bacterial film formation, protein adsorption, and osteogenic features. Results: The superhydrophilicity and surface hydrocarbon elimination exhibited by the treated material (UV-treated titanium with a nanonetwork structure [UV-TNS]) revealed that this treatment effectively changed the surface characteristics of TNS. Notably, UV-TNS also showed reduced colonization by Actinomyces oris during an initial attachment period and inhibition of biofilm formation for up to 6 hours. Moreover, compared to conventional TNS, UV-TNS showed superior osteogenic activity as indicated by increased levels of adhesion, proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, osteogenic factor production, and osteogenesis-related gene expression by rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMMSCs). This inverse relationship between bacterial attachment and cell adhesion could be due to the presence of electronhole pairs induced by high-intensity UV treatment. Conclusion: We suggest that simple UV treatment has great clinical potential for TNS implants, as it promotes the osseointegration of the TNS while reducing bacterial contamination, and can be conducted chair-side immediately prior to implantation.

Keywords: implant, nanonetwork, postoperative infection, UV treatment, superhydrophilicity, osteointegration

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Effect of ultraviolet treatment on bacterial attachment and osteogenic activity to alkali-treated titanium with ... - Dove Medical Press

AVERY Beal has seen more suffering in her three short years than many people see in a lifetime.

The plucky toddler was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in August 2014 and has been fighting for her life ever since.

In the last three years, she has lived through chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, and bone marrow transplants.

It's been a rough few years on the rest of the family too.

Avery's mum Jen has spent the last two and a half years living in between the Beal family home on the Sunshine Coast and Lady Cilento's Children Hospital in Brisbane to care for Avery's medical needs.

Dad David has cared for the couple's other five children on the Coast, working to support them while home schooling their autistic twins.

To top it all off, Mr Beal said the family was recently given no choice but to move house after their lease ended.

Despite the tumultuous last few years, the ordeal might finally be over for Avery - although she's still very high risk, doctors have deemed her well enough to come home.

"Avery's been doing really good," Mr Beal said.

"She managed to get transplant stem cells from a baby's (umbilical) cord from another country.

"She managed to get to day 100 after the transplant, which at that stage doctors were happy for Jen and Avery to come home."

Avery had a second bone marrow transplant in March after her first one failed to stimulate Avery's blood cells to create healthy cells instead of cancerous ones.

"We're feeling good but the challenge is that she's still so high risk," Mr Beal said.

"With children, they'll generally speaking only do two bone marrow transplants.

"If it does come back there is literally nothing they can do. They would just make her comfortable.

"At the moment, we have tests done on her bone marrow every month so see that she's still cancer free."

Yesterday Avery had her central line - a long, thin, flexible tube used to give medicines, fluids, nutrients, or blood transfusions -removed for the first time since her diagnosis in 2014.

The bubbly three-year-old will finally be able to go swimming - an experience that Avery has missed out on living on the Sunshine Coast.

Although the spritely tot has an 85% chance of relapsing, the family are confident that this is a good sign.

Despite all life has thrown at her, Avery is a happy child that lights up the lives of those around her.

"She's just incredible," Mr Beal said.

"It just amazes me over and over again how amazing she is on top of the treatments and the drugs; I think she's on eight different meds every morning and evening."

Mr Beal said the biggest hurdle the family currently face is the cost of Avery's multiple medications.

"She had a number on different things to get her body to a place for the transplant she's had in march," he said.

"Since then she's been on lots of different meds to make sure her body doesn't reject the transplant.

"For us finances are the biggest thing.

"Now that Avery is out of hospital we have to pay for medication and Jen's still having to do trips to Brisbane every week or fortnight"

To help the Beals visit http://www.facebook.com/averysupport.

See the article here:
Glimmer of hope in Avery's heartbreaking cancer battle - The Sunshine Coast Daily

Today the Charlotte Lozier Institute announced the release of its latest testimonial video at StemCellResearchFacts.org, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based research and policy group. The video revisits Jackie Stollfus, a lupus survivor whose story was first told in a video released in 2014.

Diagnosed at the age of 21 with systemic lupus, an autoimmune disease with no known cure, Stollfus endured years of debilitating symptoms that did not respond to medication before undergoing a transplant of her own bone marrow stem cells. Seven years later, she is healthy, active, and has been able to start a family. Adult stem cells saved my life, gave me a chance to have a life, gave me that chance to be a mom, she says.

Dr. David Prentice, Vice President and Research Director of the Charlotte Lozier Institute and an international expert on stem cells, hailed the new video, saying:

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Autoimmune diseases are notoriously challenging to treat, which makes Jackie Stollfuss recovery that much more striking. As this video shows, adult stem cells are the gold standard for stem cells when it comes to patient-centered science. Jackies story is only the latest example of innovation using adult stem cells. These non-controversial cells have led to validated healing in FDA-approved studies and peer-reviewed publications for patients with various diseases and conditions. Derived from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, and other ethical sources, they have already been used to help over one million suffering patients around the globe.

Charlotte Lozier Institute President Chuck Donovan praised Congressional efforts to prioritize NIH funding for the most promising research:

The initial successes for these innovative therapies must be followed up with expanded resources to bring more treatments to the clinic and the bedside. The bipartisan, aptly-named Patients First Act (H.R. 2918) introduced by Rep. Jim Banks and Rep. Dan Lipinski is a good example of how policymakers can advance cutting-edge medicine. It directs resources for stem cells where they will do the most good for patients.

StemCellResearchFacts.org, a project of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, was established in 2009 to facilitate and form a worldwide community dedicated to helping individuals, patients and families discover, learn and share the latest advances in adult stem cell research. To that end, the website has published 16 video testimonials backed by peer-reviewed published science. These testimonials feature patients who have undergone successful therapies for a variety of conditions including autoimmune diseases, cancer, spinal cord injury, heart disease, and more using adult stem cells. They also convey the testimony of doctors and researchers on the merits of these treatments.

Continued here:
Adult Stem Cells Save Woman Ravaged by Lupus, Now She Can be a Mom - LifeNews.com

A Winnipeg toddlerwith acute myeloid leukemia has died after hundreds came forward to register as donors in an effort to help him.

After being diagnosed with the disease on Oct. 25, 20-month-old Tegveer Minhaswent through two rounds of chemotherapy, losing his hair and a lot of weight.

During that time, his family put out calls to the public to come forward and register bone marrow and stem cell information, in hopes that someone would be a match.

Hundreds of people in Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta were swabbed, and Tegveer got a stem cell donation, but his dad said it didn't work.

"After eight months of struggle, he passed away on June 18, early in the morning at 6 a.m.," said his dad,Sukhbir Minhas.

Minhas saidhis family is trying to stay strong, but they are having a hard time.

"He was a happy soul. He loved to go out. We took him to Clear Lake on June 4, and I wish I knew that he would love it so much. We were planning to go back again," Minhas said.

The hundreds of strangers who registered as donors, prayed for and even phoned the family to offer supportmeant the world to Minhas and his wife, he said.

"There was a time in the hospital, it was in January I think, we were so sure that my son's going to be all right, because it's just not me and my wife, it's thousands of other people who are praying for him," he said.

He urged people, especially young people aged 18 to 35, to register as donors to help other families.

"I respect every person from the bottom of my heart who went and got themselves swabbed, and even those who just had a thought of going and get themselves swabbed. That means they care for my son as I and my wife," he said.

"It feels a little better than if there was nobody for us."

Original post:
'He was a fighter,' says father after toddler dies of leukemia - CBC.ca

Regulatory News:

Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS; Nasdaq: CLLS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on gene-edited CAR T-cells (UCART), announced today the first administration in the Phase I clinical study in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) for its investigational product UCART123, one of the Companys wholly-controlled TALEN gene-edited product candidates. This marks the first allogeneic, "off-the-shelf gene-edited CAR T-cell product candidate targeting CD123 to be investigated in clinical trials.

This clinical research in AML is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Gail J. Roboz, Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and Director of the Clinical and Translational Leukemia Programs at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

The clinical trial will investigate the safety and efficacy of UCART123 in patients with AML. AML is a devastating clonal hematopoietic stem cell neoplasm which is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and accumulation of leukemic blasts in bone marrow, peripheral blood and, occasionally, in other tissues. These cells disrupt normal hematopoiesis and rapidly cause bone marrow failure. In the U.S., there are an estimated 19,950 new AML cases per year, with 10,430 estimated deaths per year. While complete response rates can be as high as 80 percent in younger patients who undergo initial induction cytotoxic chemotherapy, the majority of AML patients relapse and die from the disease. AML patients with high-risk genetic features have an especially urgent unmet medical need, as their outcomes are dismal with all existing treatment modalities, including allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

"After being granted rapid approval from Regulatory Authorities and Institutional Review Boards to initiate UCART123 studies, the enrollment and treatment of the first patient represents a major milestone for Cellectis, and we are eager to hit the ground running with the recruitment of our first patient for our second UCART123 Phase I study in BPDCN soon, said Dr. Loan Hoang-Sayag, Cellectis Chief Medical Officer. "This first program targeting CD123 will be a paradigm shift for our Company, as it will provide a wealth of valuable additional knowledge and data to drive our gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cell platform.

"We are excited to be enrolling our first patient with UCART123 and are hopeful that this novel immunotherapy modality will prove to be a significant and effective weapon against AML, said Dr. Roboz.

The clinical trial is part of a strategic translational research alliance that was formed between Cellectis and Weill Cornell Medicine in 2015. Dr. Monica Guzman, an associate professor of pharmacology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, is co-principal investigator whose work focuses on preclinical and early-stage testing to optimize the development of stem cell-targeted cancer drugs.

About Cellectis

Cellectis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new generation of cancer immunotherapies based on gene-edited T-cells (UCART). By capitalizing on its 17 years of expertise in gene editing built on its flagship TALEN technology and pioneering electroporation system PulseAgile Cellectis uses the power of the immune system to target and eradicate cancer cells.

Using its life-science-focused, pioneering genome engineering technologies, Cellectis goal is to create innovative products in multiple fields and with various target markets.

Cellectis is listed on the Nasdaq market (ticker: CLLS) and on the NYSE Alternext market (ticker: ALCLS). To find out more about us, visit our website: http://www.cellectis.com

Talking about gene editing? We do it. TALEN is a registered trademark owned by the Cellectis Group.

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements that are based on our managements current expectations and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that the preliminary results from our product candidates will not continue or be repeated, the risk of not maintaining regulatory approval to pursue UCART123 clinical trials, the risk of not obtaining regulatory approvals to commence clinical studies on UCART123 in other countries or on other UCART product candidates, the risk that any one or more of our product candidates will not be successfully developed and commercialized. Further information on the risks factors that may affect company business and financial performance, is included in filings Cellectis makes with the Security Exchange Commission from time to time and its financial reports. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170627006309/en/

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First in Human Administration of UCART123 in Cellectis' AML Phase I Clinical Trial at Weill Cornell Medicine ... - Markets Insider

Ottawa Sun

Jonathan Pitre still ailing as doctors search for answers Ottawa Sun Pitre checked back into hospital earlier this month just three days after being released following a stem cell transplant that had successfully taken root in his bone marrow. Bone marrow stem cells produce most of the body's blood cells, and are ... and more »

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Jonathan Pitre still ailing as doctors search for answers - Ottawa Sun

Richard Sennott, Star Tribune file During a family portrait in 2000, Molly Nash gives her 4-week-old brother, Adam, a kiss. Molly Nash received some umbilical blood from her brother, saving her from a fatal genetic disease.

Adam Nash was dubbed Little Frankenstein by the New York Post in 2000 because he was conceived via in vitro fertilization specifically so doctors at the University of Minnesota could collect stem cells from his umbilical cord blood to save his sister, Molly.

Today, back home in Colorado, Adam has a drivers license and helps disabled children ski. His sister once weeks from death due to a condition called Fanconi anemia is debating whether to focus on oceanography or graphic design in college. And IVF to produce an ideal child for a siblings stem cell transplant is common, albeit with lingering ethics concerns.

A squirrelly trio of teens is vindication for Adams mother, Lisa Nash, who felt the weight of the ethical questions when the Us Dr. John Wagner suggested IVF in 1995.

View post:
'Little Frankenstein,' conceived so Minnesota doctors could save sister, is now a happy teen - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Photo of Jonathan Pitre and his mother, Tina Boileau, taken in Minnesota. Tina Boileau / -

Doctors in a Minnesota hospital continue to search for answers to a mysterious infection that has left Jonathan Pitre feverish, nauseated and short of breath.

Pitre, 17, of Russell, has been in the University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital for the past two weeks, suffering from an array of complications more two months after his stem cell transplant. Doctors are also trying to adjust his medications to better deal with his increased pain levels.

Hes having a tough run, said his mother, Tina Boileau, and I really dont know when it will get better.

The teenager suffers from a severe form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a painful and progressive skin disease that has left deep, open wounds on his body.

Last week, Pitres face and neck became swollen in response to what doctors believed was some kind of viral infection. That swelling has been brought under control, but a battery of tests has yet to reveal the source of the infection, which continues to cause problems.

Pitres breathing is laboured and hes running a high-grade fever of about 104 F (40 C); he has also developed bleeding and painful sores in his mouth.

We still have no idea what were dealing with, said Boileau. Its frustrating because Im at the point where it would be nice to see that all that Jonathan has gone through has been worth it.

Doctors are monitoring Pitre for graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), but all of his tests have so far been inconclusive.Anyone who receives stem cells from another person is at risk of developing GVHD, a condition in which the donors white blood cells turn on the patients own tissues and attack them as foreign. It can range from mild to life-threatening.

About one-third of the almost 50 EB patients who have had a stem cell transplant at the Masonic Childrens Hospital have experienced the condition.

Pitre checked back into hospital earlier this month just three days after being released following a stem cell transplant that had successfully taken root in his bone marrow. Bone marrow stem cells produce most of the bodys blood cells, and are responsible for arming its immune system.

Pitre has been in Minnesota since mid-February to undergo the transplant, his second. The first ended in disappointment on Thanksgiving Day last year.

Tests show Pitres latest transplant remains fully engrafted, and there are signs that it has started to improve the condition of his skin.

Originally posted here:
Jonathan Pitre still ailing as doctors search for answers - Ottawa Citizen

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: BLCM) was at its volatile best all this week. After a 14-percent gain Monday, the stock pulled back slightly Tuesday and retreated by less than 2 percent Wednesday.

It rallied over 10 percent Thursday, only to slip by about 7 percent Friday amid the Bellicum's presentation at the European Hematology Association conference, in Spain.

Bellicum Pharma is into the business of developing cellular immunotherapies for various forms of cancer, including both hematological and solid tumors, as well as orphan inherited blood disorder.

Following Bellicum's update at the EHA meeting, Cantor Fitzgerald said the company announced additional data from its ongoing phase 1/2 study with BPX-501 in patients receiving blood stem cell transplant due to malignant and non-malignant blood diseases. The data provided in the update was from 98 patients at 180-days of follow up or greater, as opposed to the 81 number reported previously in the abstract.

Giving the key takeaways, analysts Elemer Piros and Justin Kim said:

GvHD occurs after the transplant of a bone marrow or stem cell belonging to another individual, as the transplanted cells treat the recipient's body as foreign and attack it.

Detailing the data, Cantor Fitzgerald said BPX-501 treatment led to a 5-percent rate of transplant-related mortality, with a 3-percent non-relapse mortality and 15-percent disease relapse rate among malignant disease patients. The performance of the patients, according to the firm, was well above historical matched unrelated donor, or MUD, publications. The results of the study showed 6878 percent 1-year overall survival.

Source: Bellicum Pharma

The firm reminded that the E.U. primary endpoint of the study would assess event-free survival composite of death, GvHD and infection at six months compared with approximately 40 matched MUD patients.

"We expect the observation MUD study, which is in the process of being initiated, to provide relevant context for BPX-501," the firm said.

The firm estimates that an additional $100 million in capital is required to reach commercialization, which it thinks could be sourced from potential licensing fees or from issuing new equity.

A such, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its Overweight rating on the shares of Bellicum and the $35 price target it has for its shares.

At time of writing, Bellicum shares were down a steep 7.33 percent at $12.95.

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2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Despite A Volatile Trading Week, Bellicum's EHA Presentation Merits A Second Look - Benzinga

Fiona Geekie, a nurse practitioner for TheCentral London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, donated bone marrow to a person she had never met earlier this year.

According to Fiona, about 2,000 people in the UK require a bone marrow or stem cell transplant every year.

For most of them its their last chance of surviving blood cancer, she added.

The nurse, who is a member of the Merton enhanced rapid intervention team,described why she went on the register to donate through the Anthony Nolan Trust 15 years ago.

Three quarters cant find a matching donor in their family so rely upon the generosity of a complete stranger already on the bone marrow register. So I joined up, it was simple.

Last Christmas Fiona was called for blood tests as she was a possible match for someone.

I was surprised to be called in the first place and I must confess I was a little apprehensive, Fiona admitted.

However, she continued: But then I thought what if someone in my family needed a bone marrow transplant. Its the most fantastic gift you can give to total stranger.

After donating, Fiona said she felt quite emotional and wanted the recipient to get well again.

She concluded: Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I have no hesitation in recommending all young people aged 16-30 to consider joining the bone marrow donor register.

Read the original here:
Nurse goes the extra mile and donates bone marrow to a complete stranger through the Anthony Nolan Trust - Your Local Guardian

A BRAVE Barrow girl is delighted to be back at school after eight months away fighting leukemia and recovering from complications following a stem cell transplant.

Bubbly Aimee Robinson returned to St James' CE Junior School this week to a warm welcome from her friends and teachers, who have all missed having her at the Barrow primary.

The eleven-year-old last attended the Blake Street school for three weeks in September as she is a patient at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where she has battled leukemia.

Following aggressive chemotherapy, Aimee had a stem cell transplant using umbilical cord blood. She did well following the transplant and spent time in isolation. But she later developed graft versus host disease. This is when particular types of white blood cell in the donated bone marrow or stem cells attack a bodies own cells.

Aimee had to spend further time in isolation as she recovered from GVHD.

Aimee, who was first diagnosed with leukemia in January 2016, is now in remission and the treatment for GVHD is also working. She was eventually allowed home to Barrow last month, but she has treatment at the Manchester hospital every fortnight.

Medics then gave her the okay to return to school this week to complete her final year of primary school, Year Six, before she prepares to attend Furness Academy in September.

Aimee, who is a house captain and school council member at St James' school, said: "It feels great to be at school with my friends. St James' is the best school ever."

Her great friend Abbie Gelling, 11, said it is really great to have Aimee back, as they had to keep in touch through FaceTime, texts and letters.

Angela Rawlinson, the headteacher at St James' CE Junior School, said: "We are so thrilled to have Aimee back at school. It's such great news. Aimee loves school and learning.

"It was very important for Aimee to get back to school before they all move on to secondary school."

The St James' school community raised 3,000 to help Aimee and her family who have spent so much time away from home. The community also fundraised to support the pupil.

Aimee has been doing her schooling at hospital with input from St James' school.

Aimee's mum Joanne Robinson, said: "Aimee has been raring to get back to school, she missed all her friends and teachers. She wanted to go back as soon as possible.

"Nothing bothers Aimee, she just gets on with it. She is a superstar.

"There is no sign of the leukemia now, her bone marrow is working brilliantly."

Mrs Robinson thanked all the medics, the St James' community and the wider community.

She said: "Thank you to everyone for the love and support they have given our family over the past 18 months and for the support we continue to receive."

Read more here:
Brave Aimee delighted to be back at Barrow school after months in hospital - NW Evening Mail

Ribosomes, which build a protein (black) from an RNA strand (blue), may specialize in making particular sets of proteins.

V. ALTOUNIAN/SCIENCE

By Mitch LeslieJun. 21, 2017 , 11:00 AM

The plant that built your computer isn't churning out cars and toys as well. But many researchers think cells' crucial protein factories, organelles known as ribosomes, are interchangeable, each one able to make any of the body's proteins. Now, a provocative study suggests that some ribosomes, like modern factories, specialize to manufacture only certain products. Such tailored ribosomes could provide a cell with another way to control which proteins it generates. They could also help explain the puzzling symptoms of certain diseases, which might arise when particular ribosomes are defective.

Biologists have long debated whether ribosomes specialize, and some remain unconvinced by the new work. But other researchers say they are sold on the finding, which relied on sophisticated analytical techniques. "This is really an important step in redefining how we think about this central player in molecular biology," says Jonathan Dinman, a molecular biologist at the University of Maryland in College Park.

A mammalian cell may harbor as many as 10 million ribosomes, and it can devote up to 60% of its energy to constructing them from RNA and 80 different types of proteins. Although ribosomes are costly, they are essential for translating the genetic code, carried in messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, into all the proteins the cell needs. "Life evolved around the ribosome," Dinman says.

The standard view has been that a ribosome doesn't play favorites with mRNAsand therefore can synthesize every protein variety. But for decades, some researchers have reported hints of customized ribosomes. For example, molecular and developmental biologist Maria Barna of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and colleagues reported in 2011 that mice with too little of one ribosome protein have short tails, sprout extra ribs, and display other anatomical defects. That pattern of abnormalities suggested that the protein shortage had crippled ribosomes specialized for manufacturing proteins key to embryonic development.

Definitive evidence for such differences has been elusive, however. "It's been a really hard field to make progress in," says structural and systems biologist Jamie Cate of the University of California (UC), Berkeley. For one thing, he says, measuring the concentrations of proteins in naturally occurring ribosomes has been difficult.

In their latest study, published online last week in Molecular Cell, Barna and her team determined the abundances of various ribosome proteins with a method known as selected reaction monitoring, which depends on a type of mass spectrometry, a technique for sorting molecules by their weight. When the researchers analyzed 15 ribosomal proteins in mouse embryonic stem cells, they found that nine of the proteins were equally common in all ribosomes. However, four were absent from 30% to 40% of the organelles, suggesting that those ribosomes were distinctive. Among 76 ribosome proteins the scientists measured with another mass spectrometry-based method, seven varied enough to indicate ribosome specialization.

Barna and colleagues then asked whether they could identify the proteins that the seemingly distinctive ribosomes made. A technique called ribosome profiling enabled them to pinpoint which mRNAs the organelles were readingand thus determine their end products. The specialized ribosomes often concentrated on proteins that worked together to perform particular tasks. One type of ribosome built several proteins that control growth, for example. A second type churned out all the proteins that allow cells to use vitamin B12, an essential molecule for metabolism. That each ribosome focused on proteins crucial for a certain function took the team by surprise, Barna says. "I don't think any of us would have expected this."

Ribosome specialization could explain the symptoms of several rare diseases, known as ribosomopathies, in which the organelles are defective. In Diamond-Blackfan anemia, for instance, the bone marrow that generates new blood cells is faulty, but patients also often have birth defects such as a small head and misshapen or missing thumbs. These seemingly unconnected abnormalities might have a single cause, the researchers suggest, if the cells that spawn these different parts of the body during embryonic development carry the same specialized ribosomes.

Normal cells might be able to dial protein production up or down by adjusting the numbers of these specialized factories, providing "a new layer of control of gene expression," Barna says. Why cells need another mechanism for controlling gene activity isn't clear, says Cate, but it could help keep cells stable if their environment changes.

He and Dinman say the use of "state-of-the-art tools" makes the results from Barna's team compelling. However, molecular biologist Harry Noller of UC Santa Cruz doubts that cells would evolve to reshuffle the array of proteins in the organelles. "The ribosome is very expensive to synthesize for the cell," he says. If cells are going to tailor their ribosomes, "the cheaper way to do it" would entail modifying a universal ribosome structure rather than building custom ones.

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There are millions of protein factories in every cell. Surprise, they're not all the same - Science Magazine

11:59 Thursday 22 June 2017

A cancer survivor and transplant athlete from Warwick has issued a fresh plea for people to sign up to be an organ donor as he heads off to Malaga for the World Transplant Games.

Simon Perkin was diagnosed with blood cancer in 1991 at the age of 26 and after years of treatment and his deteriorating health, was left with no alternative but to have a bone marrow transplant in July 2012, when a donor match was found.

Since the operation, Simons health has steadily improved.

A major part of his recovery has been keeping himself in the best possible shape, which included taking part in the London Marathon just 18 months after his transplant.

In July 2016 Simon took part in the British Transplant Games in Liverpool, which is a qualifier for the World Transplant Games, where he won four gold medals.

Simon was selected for Team GB at this years World Transplant Games, and is part of the countrys largest ever team at the event, with 200 transplant athletes, including 20 juniors, 10 live donors, and 200-plus supporters.

The Games take place every two years, this year starting on the 25 June, and are supported by the International Olympic Committee.

They represent the largest organ donor awareness event in the world, featuring a week of 17 sporting events, 1000 transplant athletes, from 60 countries across the globe.

All of Team GBs athletes have survived either a heart, lung, kidney, pancreas, liver, small bowel or bone marrow transplant.

Simon has now launched a fresh plea to get more people to sign up to the Organ Donation Register.

He said: Every twenty minutes someone in the UK finds out they have a blood cancer.

Around 2,000 people in the UK are in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant every year. Like me, this is usually their last chance of survival

I was diagnosed with blood cancer in 1991 at the age of 26 and after years of treatment and deteriorating health, my only option was a bone marrow transplant. I was lucky as the Anthony Nolan Trust found a donor match in July 2012, and so my recovery began.

As training for the World Transplant Games enters its final phase, its a reminder of how far I have come and all I have achieved. It makes me feel so proud to be alive and representing Team GB at the Games.

To cover his own costs of getting to the World Transplant Games and raise money for Transplant Sport UK, Simon has launched a fundraising campaign that has so far, raised 2,030 of his of 2,500 target.

Warwickshire law firm Lodders has already donated 600 to Simons fundraising, making it his largest supporter to date.

Lynne Holt, Team GB Manager added: In spite of the constant training, fitting in work, school, exams, and hospital clinic appointments, these athletes receive no government support, and have to raise the funding themselves.

Sadly, many could not accept their place on the team, because of the heavy financial burden.

The team are supported by management, coaches, captains and a medical/physio team, all who are volunteers and are also self-financing.

Their motivation to be Fit for Life, the opportunity to represent their country, celebrate life and pay tribute to their donors who gave them life, is the goal.

These athletes certainly deserve the same recognition as the recent Olympic and Para Olympic Games. Not only are they ambassadors for our country, but they are also representing the charity, Transplant Sport, and hope to raise awareness here in the UK and globally, of the need for more people to sign on to the Organ Donor Register and discuss their wishes with their family and friends.

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Warwick man's plea for more organ donors as he heads to World Transplant Games - Warwick Courier

June 22, 2017 Credit : Susanna M. Hamilton, Broad Communications

Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have found that a set of genetic mutations in blood cells that arises during aging may be a major new risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In contrast to inherited genetic predispositions and traditional lifestyle risk factors, such as smoking or an unhealthy diet, the new mutations are "somatic mutations" that originate in stem cells in the bone marrow as people age.

Because the mutations are relatively common in older people (over 10% of people over the age of 70 harbor at least one of these mutations), potential future efforts to screen for the mutations in blood cells, identify people at increased risk for coronary heart disease, and reduce risk in those individuals through lifestyle changes or therapeutic interventions could have a significant clinical impact, according to the researchers.

"There is more work to be done, but these results demonstrate that pre-malignant mutations in blood cells are a major cause of cardiovascular disease that in the future may be treatable either with standard therapies or new therapeutic strategies based on these findings," said Benjamin Ebert, a co-senior author of the new study, an institute member at the Broad, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a hematologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Featured in the New England Journal of Medicine, the work also contributes to the broader understanding of pathogenesis in coronary heart disease by supporting the hypothesis that inflammation, in addition to elevated cholesterol levels, plays an important role in this illness and potentially other diseases of aging.

"A key finding from this study is that somatic mutations are actually modulating risk for a common disease, something we haven't seen other than in cancer," said first author Siddhartha Jaiswal, a pathologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and researcher in the Ebert lab. "It opens up interesting questions about other diseases of aging in which acquired mutations, in addition to lifestyle and inherited factors, could modulate disease risk."

Previous research led by Ebert and Jaiswal revealed that some somatic mutations that are able to confer a selective advantage to blood stem cells become much more frequent with aging. They named this condition "clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential," (CHIP), and found that it increases the risk of developing a blood cancer more than 10-fold and it appeared to increase mortality from heart attacks or stroke. In the new study, the researchers analyzed data from four case-control studies on more than 8,000 people and found that having one of the CHIP-related mutations nearly doubled the risk for coronary heart disease, with the mutations conferring an even greater risk in people who have previously had a heart attack before age 50.

While the human genetics data showed a strong association between CHIP and coronary heart disease, the team hoped to uncover the underlying biology. Using a mouse model prone to developing atherosclerosis, the scientists showed that loss of one of the CHIP-mutated genes, Tet2, in bone marrow cells leads to larger atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessels, evidence that this mutation can accelerate atherosclerosis in mice.

Atherosclerosis is believed to be a disease of chronic inflammation that can arise in response to excess cholesterol in the vessel wall. To examine this on a cellular level the team turned to the macrophage, an immune cell found in atherosclerotic plaques that can develop from CHIP stem cells and carry the same mutations. Because Tet2 and other CHIP-related mutations are known to be so-called "epigenetic regulators" that can alter the activity of other genes, the team examined gene expression levels in the Tet2-mutated macrophages from mice. They found that the mutated cells appear to be "hyper-inflammatory" with increased expression of inflammatory molecules that contribute to atherosclerosis. In support of this finding, humans with TET2 mutations also had higher levels of one of these molecules, IL-8, in their blood.

The work demonstrates that CHIP associates with coronary heart disease in humans, that mutation of the CHIP-related gene Tet2 causes atherosclerosis in mice, and that an inflammatory mechanism likely underlies the process. More work is needed to show whether other genes that are mutated in CHIP also lead to increased inflammation. The team is also exploring whether interventions such as cholesterol lowering therapy or anti-inflammatory drugs might have benefit in people with CHIP.

Inflammation is also thought to modulate several other diseases of aging besides cardiovascular disease, such as autoimmune disorders and neurodegenerative disease. Because CHIP also increases in frequency with age, somatic mutations that alter inflammatory processes could influence several diseases of aging, though more work is needed to test this possibility.

"By combining genetic analysis on large cohorts with disease model and gene expression studies, we've been able to confirm the earlier hints of CHIP's surprising role in cardiovascular disease," said co-senior author Sekar Kathiresan, director of the Broad's Cardiovascular Disease Initiative, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Beyond the mutations that you inherit from your parents, this work reveals a new genetic mechanism for atherosclerosismutations in blood stem cells that arise with aging."

Explore further: A role for mutated blood cells in heart disease?

More information: Siddhartha Jaiswal et al. Clonal Hematopoiesis and Risk of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, New England Journal of Medicine (2017). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1701719

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Aging-related mutations in blood cells represent major new risk factor for cardiovascular disease - Medical Xpress

Matthew Medinas doctors diagnosed him with a rare blood disease a few months ago and told him he would probably die without a bone marrow transplant.

With that prognosis came another: The 40-year-old Los Angeles police officer had a less than 50% chance of finding a donor because he is not white.

Most successful matches for bone marrow transplants involve a donor and patient of the same ethnicity. But the majority of the 25 million registered donors nationwide are white, and Medina is Filipino. So far, no match has been found.

Youre basically looking for a genetic twin, said Athena Mari Asklipiadis, who runs Mixed Marrow, an L.A.-based organization that is trying to increase diversity in the bone marrow donor registry. Its not like we have more of a chance we would get a disease, or that were harder to match, its just that theres not representation in the national registry.

Its a familiar problem for any nonwhite person who has needed a bone marrow transplant.

A white American of European descent has a 75% chance of finding a perfect match in the national donor registry, compared with a 40% chance for Filipinos. Few Filipinos in the U.S. have signed up as potential donors, and there is no registry in the Philippines.

Researchers are experimenting with ways to perform bone marrow transplants on people who cant find matches. But while those treatments are being perfected, thousands of people are diagnosed every year with leukemia, lymphomas and other blood diseases whose only hope for a cure is a marrow transplant. And for them, it can come down to ethnicity.

Medinas wife, Angelee, has watched dozens of people at sign-up events across Southern California, particularly in the Filipino community, volunteer to donate bone marrow with the hope of curing her husband. Were very thankful for that, she said. Were hoping something comes up.

For now, Medina is being kept alive with transfusions.

All you want is for that loved one to have a chance, said Officer Dante Pagulayan, Medinas partner at the LAPD and a childhood friend. Thats what were praying for.

Medina went to the doctor in March because he had a rash. His blood work revealed something far more dangerous.

Medina was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a disease in which the bone marrow stops working. Bone marrow is spongy material inside bones that produces the essential components of blood white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Between 600 and 900 Americans are diagnosed with aplastic anemia each year, according to the Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation. The disease can be caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or a virus, but most cases, including Medinas, are unexplained.

One day he wakes up and the doctor tells him he has this. It could happen to anyone, said Pagulayan, who went to high school and Cal State Long Beach with Medina and now works alongside him in the gang unit in the LAPDs Harbor Division.

Blood transfusions can sustain Medina for now, but the only possible cure for aplastic anemia is a transplant, said Dr. Len Farol, a bone marrow transplant specialist at City of Hope National Medical Center and one of Medinas physicians.

Medina is quarantined at his home in Bellflower, where he lives with his wife and two young daughters. But he needs a transplant soon because his immune system is so weakened from his disease that exposure to a common virus could kill him, Farol said.

Doctors checked to see if Medinas sister could be a match, but she wasnt siblings provide a match only about 25% of the time. They started combing through the registry, but trying to find a donor there can be like finding a needle in a haystack, Farol said.

Doctors look to see if the patient and potential donor share eight cell markers called human leukocyte antigens, or HLA. All eight have to match, but thats rare because there are thousands of possibilities for each marker, experts say.

There could be billions of combinations, said Stephen Spellman, director of immunobiology and observational research for the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. Within any group, finding a match for HLA is difficult.

Spellman said that people whose ancestors are from the same place tend to have the same markers because they evolved over time in response to different pathogens and diseases that were present in their environment.

According to a 2014 report in the New England Journal of Medicine, a person of white European descent has the highest chance of finding a perfect match eight out of eight HLA markers in the national registry of any ethnic group.

What's your chance of finding a perfect match? If you're...

Source: HLA Match Likelihoods for Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Grafts in the U.S. Registry, New England Journal of Medicine, 2014

Pagulayan, who is also Filipino, said neither he nor Medina knew ethnicity would affect his chances of being cured. Finding out that less than 1% of people in the registry were Filipino was very disheartening, he said.

There are international registries, but the vast majority of people worldwide whove signed up to donate bone marrow are from the U.S and Europe.

Plus, nonwhite populations in general tend to have more genetic diversity. African Americans, for example, have highly diverse genetics because of mixing with other groups since arriving in the United States, experts say. Filipinos are also very diverse because of the countrys long history of colonization.

Still, experts say that everyone who wants to help Medina should sign up for the registry, regardless of ethnicity.

Matches often break down along ethnic lines, but not always. Sometimes markers in one population also appear in another, or people dont know their lineage.

Maya Chamberlin, who is half Indian and half white, had two bone marrow transplants after she was diagnosed with a rare blood disease called HLH in 2009 when she was 4.

Mayas first donor was half Japanese and half Latino, and her second was half Japanese and half Filipino.

So you never know how this works until you get on the registry, said her mother, Mina Chamberlin, who lived in Torrance when Maya was diagnosed but has since relocated to Cincinnati to be closer to physicians who specialize in her daughters disease. You just never know.

Angelee Medina canceled her familys vacation to Mexico scheduled for this summer. Shed been commuting to a job as a graphic designer 20 miles from home when Matt was diagnosed, but found a closer place to work so she could take care of the kids and be near her husband.

It was very, very overwhelming in the beginning, she said. With all the support were getting from everyone around us, it feels hopeful.

More than 1,000 people have signed up to donate bone marrow over the past few months through dozens of drives for Medina, said Chris Chen, a recruitment coordinator for Little Tokyo-based nonprofit A3M, which focuses on getting more Asians to sign up for the Be the Match registry to donate bone marrow.

Potential donors submit cell samples by having the inside of their cheek swabbed. The cells are then analyzed to determine their HLA markers.

About 70% of transplants employ a process called peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is similar to a blood donation but can take several hours. In the other 30% of cases, donors are admitted to the hospital and anesthetized so doctors can remove marrow from their pelvic bone with a needle.

Ayumi Nagata, recruitment manager for A3M, knows that asking people to volunteer for a medical procedure they dont need themselves can be a hard sell. But she tries to impress upon them how they could be the cure for someones cancer or other disease and save their life.

How often do we have that kind of opportunity? Nagata said.

The Medinas 8-year-old daughter, Cassiah, made a sticker thats distributed at donor drives that says, Keep calm and help our daddy fight! When Angelee picked up Cassiah from day care recently, she found out that her daughter had been asking the other kids parents: Did you get swabbed? Have you gotten swabbed yet?

Doctors are testing ways to perform transplants on patients who cant find a bone marrow match. Some are using umbilical cord blood, donated by mothers whove just given birth, which scientists say has a lower chance of rejection even if its not a complete match.

Haploidentical transplants, in which the donor and patient share only half of the eight markers, have also been successful in clinical trials, Spellman said.

Medinas doctors think his best shot is still a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant, his wife said.

Thats just what were waiting for, she said. I remind him one day soon, hopefully everything will be better.

What to know about joining the bone marrow registry

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An LAPD officer needs a bone marrow transplant. His ethnicity limits his chances of getting one - Los Angeles Times

A paper co-authored by Kristin Comellas, chief science officer for U.S. Stem Cell (OTCQB:USRM)about an intra-articular injection for the treatment of osteoarthritis in the latest issue of the Journal of Translational Medicine.

As quoted in the press release:

Comella is a world-renowned expert on regenerative medicine with a focus on adipose derived stem cells. She was named number 24 on Terrapins list of the Top 50 Global Stem Cell Influencers and number 1 on the Academy of Regenerative Practices list of Top 10 Stem Cell Innovators. Comella has pioneered stem cell therapies from various sources including cord blood, bone marrow, muscle, and adipose.

Entitled, Intra-articular injection in the knee of adipose derived stromal cells (stromal vascular fraction) and platelet rich plasma for osteoarthritis, the scientific paper was co-authored by Kristin Comella, Himanshu Bansal, Jerry Leon, Poonam Verma, Diwaker Agrawal, Prasad Koka and Thomas Ichim. Below is a link and abstract to the paper: http://bit.ly/2smaM93.

Click here to read the full press release.

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US Stem Cell's Chief Science Officer Co-Authors Featured Paper - Investing News Network (press release) (registration) (blog)

Founded in 2004, LifeCcell has technological collaboration with the US-based Cryo-Cell Internationalthe worlds first private stem cell bank with over 25 years of experience. (PTI)

Chennai-based LifeCell, the provider of preventive healthcare services for family wellness, is the worlds second-largest provider of umbilical cord stem cells. Founded in 2004, the company has technological collaboration with the US-based Cryo-Cell Internationalthe worlds first private stem cell bank with over 25 years of experience. As many as 2 lakh Indian parents have chosen to trust their newborns umbilical cords to LifeCell through its umbilical cord banking service BabyCord. The company has a 60% share in the Indian market.Stem cells are mother cells that have the potential to become any type of cell in the body. One of the main characteristics of stem cells is their ability to self-renew or multiply, while maintaining the potential to develop into other types of cells. These cells can repair and rebuild damaged tissue. The uses of stem cells are still being researched. In fact, stem cell tissues have proved effective in cancer treatment too. The applications have been steadily increasing in the last few years. They have been used for treating wound healing, including diabetic foot ulcers. In a country where concepts like bone marrow donations and stem cell banking are still not widely known, Mayur Abhaya, the CEO and managing director of the company, is betting on these treatments of the future.

The company is the most accredited stem cell bank in the country, with certifications from national and international organisations for standards. It is also the only player in the industry providing comprehensive stem cell solutions, including menstrual stem cell banking, R&D and point-of-care stem cell therapy for orthopaedic and vascular specialities.Mayur has been heading LifeCell since 2008. He comes from the family that set up Shasun Group of companiesthe provider of contract pharmaceutical manufacturing services for global companies. Mayur studied biotechnology in India and the US, and then worked in the US for a year. Before moving to LifeCell, he worked for many years at Shasun Pharmaceuticals, where he led their new product development, intellectual property and licensing initiatives. In 2013, LifeCell International got an investment of Rs35 crore from Helion Venture Partners, an India-focused venture fund, to support its plans of increasing market penetration of stem cell banking in India and enabling the development of novel cell-based therapies.

Also Watch: Mayur says LifeCell currently operates in 150 cities, employing more than 1,500 people. We have given an opportunity to our sales people to become their own bosses. They remain on company rolls and get to enjoy all the company benefit plans, such as insurance and welfare schemes. They grow with the company and also have the opportunity to explore and add non-conflicting products or services to their distribution network and enhance their earnings. These internal franchisees bring 50% of our revenue and it is growing. More than 50 such entrepreneurs have been created.LifeCell recently bought over the stake held by Helion Ventures with borrowings from family-owned firms. Three months ago, it changed its business model. We are introducing an on-demand model for sharing cord blood cells, Mayur says. Parents can let the company know if their babies cord blood cells can be used for other needy patients. Cancer patients cannot be treated with their own stem cells. Patients usually do not have much time. Cord cells can be used even if all the six parameters that are required to transplant tissues do not match. By letting their stem cells be used by others, parents and their children get access to cord blood cellsof the entire cord blood cell bankwhen they are in need. So far, stem cells were banked only for the baby from whom these were removed.

Our inventory will come to the aid of people who do not have babies. We will refund the amount paid for having their babys stem cell stored. The processing fee is Rs17,000 and the storage fee each year is Rs4,000. Mayur says that the worlds largest birthing country has a long way to go to create a viable stem cell bank. We are going to follow the blood bank model and hope to bank 2,50,000 cords, which is the critical amount, he adds. We hope to contribute significantly to the ever-developing scope of transplant medicine. Currently, India is importing cord cells, which are prohibitively expensive. With scale, prices will come down in the country. Parents in India will have higher future access to stem cells than even those enjoyed by patients in advanced countries such as the US. We will have a linkage with global inventory. Earlier this month, LifeCell was invited by AABB (formerly American Association of Blood Banks) to present the concept of Community Stem Cell Banking at the 15th International Cord Blood Symposium held in San Diego, US. In 15 years, it is the only second stem cell bank to present its innovation at such a prestigious global platform.

With a turnover of Rs126 crore, LifeCell is operationally profitable. It has enough cash to run its business, but is yet to make net profits. However, Mayur believes very soon LifeCell will turn profitable, and that this year the number of stem cells brought into the labs will be higher by at least 30%. Mayur has extended LifeCells services to introduce and popularise the concept of essential preventive diagnostics for mothers and babies. BabyShield has been introduced to bring down infant mortality ratio. Addressing gaps in marketplace and with innovative business models, it has established market leadership in newborn screening. It has also acquired a prenatal screening service provider. In India, only 2% babies go through prenatal and newborn screening. Nobody has focused on this. We will also be providing diagnostic medication. Doing this can prevent so many false positives. We are building all this together as a package and are offering it at an affordable price, he says.

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How LifeCell became the most accredited stem cell bank in India - Financial Express

The Jerusalem Post

Ex-Hadassah head of bone-marrow transplants loses license for 6 months The Jerusalem Post The Health Ministry suspended for at least six months the license of Prof. Shimon Slavin, the much-celebratad former head of bone-marrow transplantation at Hadassah University Medical Center, who retired in 2007 and set up a private clinic in Tel Aviv.

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Ex-Hadassah head of bone-marrow transplants loses license for 6 months - The Jerusalem Post