Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Partners with Insception Lifebank Cord Blood Program to Advance New Parent Education About Cord Blood

TORONTO, September 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, home to one of the largest high risk birthing centres and neonatal intensive care units in Canada, and Insception Lifebank Cord Blood Program, Canada's largest and most experienced cord blood program, announced today a partnership to advance education and services to parents about banking cord blood.

"We did a substantial amount of research prior to the decision, and concluded that the experience, competence and credibility of Insception Lifebank made the partnership an ideal fit," explains Dr. Michael Julius, Vice President, Research, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Sunnybrook Research Institute.

"Given the track record of Insception Lifebank, we feel that this is an excellent option for our patients," says Dr. Arthur Zaltz, Chief, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sunnybrook. "Their commitment to providing compassionate collections for those in need as well as their dedication to our ongoing stem cell research makes them a logical choice."

Today, cord blood is used in the treatment of over 75 life-threatening diseases, including a wide range of cancers, genetic diseases, immune system deficiencies, and blood disorders.  Insception Lifebank has successfully released more units for transplant to treat a variety of disease states including Leukemia and Thalassemia than all other family banks in Canada combined.

The decision to bank cord blood is becoming more important, since emerging research is discovering new uses for cord blood to treat once thought to be incurable diseases. In fact, Insception Lifebank has already released stored samples allowing patients with banked cord blood to participate in leading edge clinical trials for diabetes, cerebral palsy and brain injury.

"Insception Lifebank is thrilled to partner with a world class facility like Sunnybrook in addition to existing partnerships with Mount Sinai Hospital and The Scarborough Hospital," states Richard Lockie, CEO of Insception Lifebank.  

About Insception Lifebank

Founded in 1996, and trusted with 58,000 cord blood units, Insception Lifebank is the largest and most experienced national FACT-accredited cord blood bank in Canada. Insception Lifebank is a private company owned by Argosy Partners, Mount Sinai Hospital, management and its scientific founders.  By continuing to partner with leading Canadian medical facilities such as Toronto's Mount Sinai, Scarborough Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences, the Insception Lifebank Cord Blood Program is able to provide every Canadian family with security, state-of-the-art processing and storage, financial stability and long term professional governance. For more information, visit us online at http://www.insception.com.

About Sunnybrook

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre cares for 1.2 million patients each year through the dedication of more than 10,000 staff and volunteers. An internationally recognized leader in research and education and a full affiliation with the University of Toronto, Sunnybrook is one of Canada's premier academic health sciences centres. For more information about how Sunnybrook is inventing the future of health care, visit us online at http://www.sunnybrook.ca

Media Contacts:  

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre           
Sybil Edmonds, Communications Advisor            
+1-(416)-480-4040                        
sybil.edmonds@sunnybrook.ca

Insception Lifebank
Nicole Winders, Director of Marketing
+1-(905)-206-2790 ext. 3015
nicolewinders@insception.com