Work to help develop stem-cell treatment in Detroit just got a little easier after the J.P. McCarthy Fund gave the
Karmanos Cancer Institute a $250,000 grant.
The money will help improve and expand the collection area of the institute's
cord stem cell bank. That will help facilitate more cord stem cell transplants – non-embryonic stem cells extracted from the umbilical cord and placenta following the birth of a child.
The cord blood and placenta is often discarded as medical waste, but if saved it can help fight diseases. Unlike donated bone marrow, the cord blood unit does not have to match the patient’s tissue type as closely as donated marrow does. Therefore, more patients are able to get stem cell transplants than ever before.
The grant will be disbursed in $50,000 intervals over five years. The institute's cord stem cell bank is one of two public cord blood banks in Michigan.
Source: Karmanos Cancer Institute
Writer: Jon Zemke