Cooper Clinic Banks On Prevention With Adult Stem Cell Storage
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08/17/2009
Partnership with AssureImmune Takes Preventive Medicine to the Next Level by Offering Stem Cell Banking for Patients’ Future Use.
DALLAS (August 17, 2009) – Cooper Clinic, a pioneering and innovative preventive medicine clinic, announced today that patients and the public now have the option to store their stem cells through a partnership with AssureImmune, an adult stem cell collection and preservation company. The step takes prevention to the next level by allowing patients to bank and access their stem cells should they develop a disease later in life.
“We have long advocated and encouraged people to take responsibility for their own health,” said Tedd Mitchell, M.D., president and CEO, Cooper Clinic. “Living a healthy lifestyle is imperative, but we know that age and genetics can take over. Stem cell storage provides people an important preventive medical choice to live a longer, better life.”
There are more than 70 diseases that can be treated with adult stem cells, the active agent in bone marrow, including leukemia, anemia, blood cancers and immune system dysfunctions. There are thousands of clinical trials currently underway in the U.S. with more than 700 of these trials in final Phase III evaluation for adult stem cells therapies for the treatment of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, orthopedic conditions, autoimmune diseases and more.
“Stem cells age just as we do, so it is critically important for individuals to bank early, while they are healthy,” said Connie Araps, Ph.D., AssureImmune vice president of strategic planning and business development. “While physicians have been conducting adult stem cell transplants to treat debilitating conditions for more than 40 years, it is exciting that new therapies are on the horizon that could dramatically improve people’s health. Many of these therapies are already approved and used effectively in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.”
In addition to being derived from bone marrow, adult stem cells can be collected at birth from umbilical cord blood and throughout an adult’s life from a blood sample. While the highest number and healthiest stem cells are produced at younger ages, adults in their 70s can store viable stem cells if they meet certain health guidelines. The best source of stem cells is an individual’s own banked cells, guaranteeing availability and an identical match.
Cooper Clinic patients and members of the public who elect to store their stem cells must first make an appointment for a consultation. A technician draws blood and sends it to AssureImmune where the stem cells are isolated, carefully frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored in a secure cryogenic bank for as long as the donor chooses. Undisturbed, stem cells can be safely frozen for many decades. The initial cost for one adult collection and a year of storage is $2495, with a $349 annual storage fee. Additional options are available.
“You can’t put a price on prevention,” adds Dr. Mitchell. “Invest in your health—the sooner the better.”
Note: Cooper Clinic and AssureImmune are not involved in the collection or banking of embryonic stem cells.
About Cooper Clinic
Cooper Clinic, a Cooper Aerobics company based at the world-renowned Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas, is a preventive medicine clinic offering comprehensive physical exams, cardiology, breast health, preventive and cosmetic dermatology, gastroenterology, imaging, and nutrition services. Founded in 1970 by preventive medicine pioneer and “father of aerobics” Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., Cooper Clinic has more than 100,000 patients and has performed more than 240,000 exams. Later this year the clinic will launch a new service—Cooper Clinic Platinum™—providing patients a 24/7 personal physician for both preventive and acute care needs. For more information call 866-906-COOP (2667) or visit www.cooperaerobics.com.
About AssureImmune
AssureImmune, a science-based adult stem cell preservation leader, provides its clients with private stem cell collection and preservation services worldwide. The company specializes in collecting, testing, and banking an individual's own healthy adult stem cells from the peripheral blood of children (children must weigh more than 80 lbs. to collect) and adults and from the cord blood of new born infants. AssureImmune works to assure that the client’s adult and cord blood stem cells will always be available for future use sustaining life and battling disease. The company is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. For more information about AssureImmune LLC, please call 1-888-3immune (346-6883) or visit the website at www.assureimmune.com.
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For interviews with AssureImmune contact
Connie Araps at 561-750-6030.
For interviews with a Cooper Clinic physician, contact
Brandy McDonald at 972-560-3221.