While Immune Cell Banking is a relatively new concept for many, our team is here to help you understand how important it is to preserve your healthy cells.. We've created this free informational guide for you to to learn about our company, the concept of immune cell banking & the future benefits it can unlock. Register your interest below to receive your free copy.
What is Immune Cell Banking?
Immune cell banking is a process that allows proactive individuals to store their healthy immune cells of today for a better tomorrow. The purpose of banking your healthy immune cells today is to have them safely preserved so they can be used in cell-based therapies of the future. Preserving the immune cells while they are young & healthy before they are needed is key. Young, healthy immune cells have shown to more robust, can self-duplicate & can be programmed to attack specific types of cells like cancer cells.
For the collected immune cells to be useful for immunotherapy purposes, they need to be collected in a state of high-purity while individuals are healthy. Our immune systems are programmed to protect us from new threats, but our ability to fight these infections declines rapidly as we grow older. By taking proactive steps now, individuals can use a process known as immune cell banking to store their own youthful cells for future usage to combat or reconstitute the body’s protection against disease.
How Long Can Immune Cells Be Stored For?
Once collected, the cells for immune cell banking can last practically forever. Research shows that when cells are frozen at -196°C, they enter a state of metabolic inactivity & are essentially frozen in time. Studies show that stem cells maintain their viability & health after being cryogenically preserved in state-of-the-art cell freezers, like our BioArchive, the industry leading automated cell storage system. Within the BioArchive, your family’s precious cells will be preserved until the day they are needed.
What can the preserved Immune Cells Be Used for?
Currently as of December 2022, there are 6 FDA-approved cell therapies that work by essentially reprogramming a patient’s own immune cells to target & attack cancer cells. One such cell therapy is called CAR-T Cell Therapy. As of December 2022, there are also more than 1,100 ongoing clinical trials using CAR T-cell therapy to treat over 40 different solid & blood cancers along with other diseases. It has also shown promising results for patients with Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, HIV & others. Research clearly shows that genetic predispositions often influence cancer development. That means those with a family history of the disease should store their immune cells while they are healthy before any signs of the disease show up.
How are immunotherapies helping patients in the real world?
An amazing story that shows the success of immune cell therapy is Emily Whitehead, the world’s first pediatric patient who received a special type of therapy to treat her cancer. As a 5-year-old, Emily was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at Penn State Health in Pennsylvania. A few months after her diagnosis, her condition worsened so much that she was no longer eligible to receive a transplant. It was around that time that the FDA had approved a Phase 1 clinical trial for CAR T-Cell Therapy in children. Faced with the peculiar situation, her family decided to enroll in the clinical trial. 23 days after treatment, a bone marrow test showed that all of the cancer was gone! 10 years later, Emily remains cancer-free which is amazing news for everyone & especially so for those who decide to preserve their baby’s cord blood & tissue. Read about her story on People.com by clicking here.
How can HealthBanks help?
HealthBanks offers comprehensive immune cell banking options. Using FDA-approved collection materials & state-of-the-art automated technology, HealthBanks makes immune cell banking accessible & affordable. Our state-of-the-art automated processing technology & world-class customer service allow us to provide the best cell banking experience in the industry. As the only dual biobank in the US for both immune cells from adults & stem cells from a newborns, you can trust your family’s precious cells with our team.
If you’d like to preserve your healthy immune cells, we invite you to get in touch with our cell banking specialists by calling us at 888-379-2670. Our cell banking specialists would be happy to help get your enrollment process started.