Dr Tomasz Baran – FamiCord Vicepresident – speaks on cord blood banking at world’s largest cord blood conference

Tomasz Baran, MD, MBA, Vice President of FamiCord Group, recently shared his expertise on cord blood banking at the world’s largest cord blood conference. During his presentation, Dr. Baran highlighted the latest advancements in stem cell research and discussed how it may change the current perception of cord blood banking in Europe. His insights underscore FamiCord’s commitment to innovation and leadership in the field of stem cell banking.

Cord Blood Connect is the single place where the worldwide cord blood and perinatal tissue community comes together to learn, teach, share, refresh, and reconnect. The Conference is organised each year by Cord Blood Association, the biggest association dedicated to perinatal stem cells. At Cord Blood Connect, groundbreaking results in the application of cord blood stem cells are announced, with the scientific program overseen by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, a pioneer in stem cell applications and the President of the Cord Blood Association.

This year, Dr. Tomasz Baran took the stage on the second day of the conference, during a session dedicated to the challenges faced by the global stem cell banking sector. In his presentation, Tomasz addressed the current situation in Europe. From the perspective of FamiCord, biggest stem cell bank in Europe, a region that was once a pioneer in the field—after all, the first cord blood transplant was performed in France. Today, however, Europe is falling behind both the USA and China in terms of stem cell research and clinical applications. Dr. Baran also pointed out that the current situation in Europe is not only due to demographic challenges but is also heavily influenced by the complex legal framework that exists across the continent. These legal and regulatory barriers hinder the development and growth of the stem cell banking sector, making it difficult for European countries to catch up with more advanced markets.

“Currently, the number of applications of cord blood in Europe has drastically decreased compared to countries like China and the USA. I’m not just talking about standard hematological therapies, but also innovative applications in neurology,” said Dr. Baran, emphasizing the urgent need for Europe to catch up in this rapidly advancing field.

FamiCord Group has been a long-standing partner of the Cord Blood Connect conference, and this year, it had the pleasure of sponsoring travel grants for six young scientists from Europe. This initiative aims to support the next generation of researchers and foster the global exchange of knowledge and ideas in the field of cord blood banking and stem cell research.