CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank Congratulates Team Member Hal Broxmeyer, Ph.D., on his Election as President of the American Society of Hematology

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank congratulates CORD:USE team member and highly esteemed advisor Hal Broxmeyer, Ph.D., on becoming the 2010 President of the American Society of Hematology ("ASH").

"Being elected as President of such an important organization as ASH is a tremendous achievement and a testament to the pioneering research and body of work that Dr. Broxmeyer has performed, and we are deeply honored to have him as an integral member of our team," said CORD:USE President and CEO Edward Guindi, M.D.  

The American Society of Hematology is the world's largest professional society, with more than 16,000 members from 97 countries, concerned with the causes and treatments of blood disorders.  The mission of the Society is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.

Dr. Broxmeyer is internationally recognized as a founder of the field of umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation.  He helped start the first cord blood banking company and was involved in planning and coordinating the first successful cord blood transplant performed in 1988.  He set up the first proof-of-principal cord blood bank, which supplied the first five cord blood collections for HLA-matched sibling cord blood transplants.  As a result of the research of Dr. Broxmeyer and his colleagues, cord blood has been used in transplantation therapy for more than 16,000 patients with over 70 life-threatening diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma, thalassemia, and sickle cell anemia.  

Dr. Broxmeyer is the Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, former Director of the Walther Oncology Center and Mary Margaret Walther Professor Emeritus, Distinguished Professor of the Indiana University School of Medicine.  He is a member of the Cord Blood Committee of the National Marrow Donor Program ("NMDP") and has been a member of the Health Resources and Services Administration's ("HRSA") Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation.  In his more than 30 year career, he has authored over 600 publications and has served as an editor on many peer reviewed journals.  Dr. Broxmeyer has won numerous awards, including the highly prestigious E. Donnall Thomas Prize from ASH.  

About CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank

CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is creating a large, ethnically diverse, high quality inventory of available cord blood stem cell units for the many patients in need of a potentially life-saving transplant.  CORD:USE has assembled a team of world leaders in the field of cord blood banking and transplantation.  CORD:USE has entered into agreements with hospitals across the country to provide mothers the option to donate their babies' cord blood.  CORD:USE makes these cord blood units available to transplanters throughout the country and around the world, as a critical component in their patients' treatment.  CORD:USE is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy ("FACT") and lists all of its units on the National Marrow Donor Program's Registry.  CORD:USE has also been selected by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health as one of the high quality cord blood banks to build the federally supported National Cord Blood Inventory.  For more information, please visit www.corduse.com.

SOURCE CORD:USE Cord Blood Bank