Information concerning own storage

In addition to public donations, you can also store the stem cells of your child with Vivocell for own use.

In this case, all the related costs (for removal, transport, processing and storage) will be borne by the expectant parents. The period of storage for your stem cells will be established with us contractually and may be prolonged as required.

Should you decide to opt for this type of storage, if needed the stem cells will only be provided to your child. Own stem cells have the advantage that they are ideally tolerated by the body and do not trigger any rejection reactions.

However, it must be stressed that in the case of disorders of the blood and immunological system (e.g. leukaemia) in early childhood, the use of unrelated stem cells is preferable. To date, autologous stem cells have only been employed in rare cases, e.g. for the treatment of malignant tumours (e.g. retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma) although research in this innovative area is making rapid strides. At present, clinical studies are in progress, especially in the USA (e.g. a working group under the auspices of Dr. Charles Cox at the University of Texas Science Center is completing a study into the treatment of traumatic brain injuries, while Dr. James Carroll from the Georgia Health Science University and Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg from Duke University are carrying out studies into the treatment of cerebral child paralysis using autologous umbilical cord blood, and in Florida research is taken place into the possible treatment of Type I juvenile diabetes).