Bangalore, Sep 18, 2006: For the first time, Malaysia played host to the fourth annual Asia Pacific Cord Blood Bank Consortium (APCBBC) forum on September 17, 2006 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The forum had brought together the region's foremost and leading cord blood stem cell banking companies throughout the Asia Pacific region.

 

Member countries, which include Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, discussed and highlighted key issues arising from the cord blood banking industry on a local and global front. The forum addressed industry perspectives, medical breakthroughs and the applications of cord blood stem cells.

 

The event provided an opportunity for the members to meet and discuss the status of the cord blood banking industry in each country. Industry perspectives included on how cord blood stem cell banking has provided for successful patient transplantation and enabled doctors to offer their patients stem cell therapy as an option, and how the industry is perceived by the general public. In addition, topics such as new medical breakthroughs and application of stem cells in regenerative medicine took center stage at this forum.

 

Mr Sharon Low, Managing Director of StemLife and host to the 2006 APCBBC forum in Malaysia, stated, “As a consortium, our members aim to make cord blood stem cell banking not only accessible but affordable and useful to our respective community of expectant parents who wish to take advantage of what new medical technology has to offer.”

 

Mr Chris Tsai, CEO of Taiwan’s Bionet Corporation, BabyBanks, expressed, “People choose to bank their child's umbilical cord blood stem cells when they see medical successes and new therapies on the horizon, it is important that the number of applications continues to develop”.

 

The consortium works on the theme “Stem cells – A Global Phenomenon and Medical Revolution in Asia”. The consortium also plans to educate the general public on the exciting possibilities of stem cell banking and therapy. Over the last two decades, umbilical cord blood stem cells have proven effective in treating patients with blood cancers, genetic blood disorders such as thalassemia major and on-going research may yield potential capabilities in forming skeletal muscles, heart muscle, liver, neuronal and cartilage regeneration.

 

The benefits of cord blood stem cell banking has even been linked to the ability to extend an athlete's career. According to recent news reports, a number of premiership footballers have banked their child's umbilical cord blood stem cells for future treatments not only for their child but also their own career-threatening sports injuries. With future stem cell breakthroughs, athletes may be able to prolong their careers despite their intensive exertion and injuries.

 

Representing Malaysia, StemLife Berhad is one of the youngest and leading stem cell companies in the APCBBC and is the first in the country to offer cord blood stem cell banking and the first in the Asia Pacific region to offer adult stem cell banking services to complement its stem cell banking services, StemLife also collaborates closely with leading medical specialists and hospitals in the country to offer leading edge stem cell therapy and consultancy services.