WHY THOUSANDS OF EXPECTANT PARENTS CHOOSE CFL

Our experience: Cells for Life (CFL) is one of the largest and oldest cord blood banks in Canada. Since 1997, we have processed and stored close to 15,000 cord blood samples in our on-site laboratory. Our company is extremely stable ensuring your child’s cells will be safely stored and available for many years to come.

Our commitment to the highest quality standards: Since 2003, we have been AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) accredited, which has included two full audits of our laboratory, administrative and quality procedures.

Our samples are being used for medical treatment: A little 5-year-old boy with leukemia is on his way to full recovery after receiving his sister’s CFL cord blood sample. Another young boy will be using his sister’s cord blood sample for treatment of Thalassemia.

Our state-of-the-art laboratory: CFL’s laboratory uses flow cytometric stem cell enumeration, Baxter Optipress technology, specialized Pall stem cell freezing bags, closed system processing and storage and a secure identification and inventory system. Samples are carefully stored in liquid nitrogen vapour phase to ensure uniform storage temperatures. Internal and external monitoring systems are in place for 24 hour protection.

Our ‘space-age’ collection kit: CFL’s new cord blood collection kit was developed by the same people who designed packaging for NASA. The kit is easy to use and reduces risks to your baby’s cord blood sample by maintaining sanitary conditions and temperature control during collection and transport.

Our specialized customer services:
Multilingual staff - CFL is proud to serve customers in many different languages including French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Hebrew, Russian, Macedonian, Romanian and Urdu. We have coordinated care for expectant parents from all over the world.
Our new bed-side pickup - We are pleased to offer our clients worry-free bed-side pickup service (in select locations) to ensure prompt delivery of your baby’s precious cord blood stem cells to our laboratory. Contact our office for details and pricing.
Last minute registration - Our customer care department is able to register parents quickly and efficiently even a few days prior to the baby’s delivery

Our commitment to education: Our Medical Director Dr. Michael Virro, and our Registered Nurses, provide private and group education sessions to ensure parents are able to make an informed decision about cord blood banking. CFL trains health care professionals about the proper methods of cord blood collection.

(click here and send us an email to request schedule information).

Our commitment to the community:
Medical Need Program - CFL offers free sample storage when physicians identify patients with an immediate need* for cord blood therapy (*physician referral letter required). We also offer a 50% reduction in processing fees to those families who demonstrate they are unable to afford the costs.
Victoria Angel Registry of Hope - we are the only private cord blood bank in Canada to develop and fund a public cord blood registry to assist terminally ill children and adults around the world.

Our satisfied clients: Most of our clients complete and return our Client Satisfaction Survey. The satisfaction rate is 98.8%!

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A Message from Our Founder

Welcome to Cells for Life:

We have created this section called the Cells for Life Advantage to give you a snapshot of our company.

In 1997, Cells for Life started as a small company with the belief that there was a need to store and process umbilical cord stem cells. At that time, there was increasing medical-based evidence and case reports that these cells were capable of treating many diseases and cancers. Today, over 70 diseases have been successfully treated worldwide with umbilical cord blood stem cells.

As medical director of the Markham Fertility Centre, I have worked for over 20 years with infertile couples and highly technical laboratory processes. It was a smooth transition from freezing embryos for our couples to freezing umbilical cord blood stem cells after the babies have been born. I have come to feel passionately that the current and potential uses of umbilical cord blood stem cells are enormous. In addition, through my work with infertile patients, I, very much, realize the importance of the patient-physician relationship. Dealing with a couple’s eggs, sperm and embryos is a very personal and unique situation. At Cells for Life, I have learned that parents who store their child’s umbilical cord stem cells are in the same position --- these cells are uniquely their child’s and may never be replaced at another time. A child’s stem cells should be treated with as much care and respect as a couple’s frozen embryos. Because our staff are all medically and scientifically trained, this belief is understood and upheld strongly throughout the company. I believe that Cells for Life is unique in this context.

This entire web-site is dedicated to informing families about the extraordinary potential of umbilical cord stem cells - the proven therapies that already exist and the incredible promise of future cures and therapies – so I will instead focus on why you should choose Cells for Life.

Client care is paramount at Cells for Life, and I think that is why many of our clients consider us friends rather than service providers. We want to help you as you go through your pregnancy, birth, and future with your child. In fact, this is the most enjoyable aspect of the work we do.

I invite you to explore this website, visit our facility, and e-mail or talk with the expert on our web-site. I think that if couples do their research, the answer is very clear as to which umbilical cord blood company you should put your trust in. Our range of services provided is unparalleled compared to our competition. The storage of your child’s umbilical cord blood stem cells is not a business, but a patient care medical process.

The Cells for Life Advantage could easily be called the Cells for Life Difference... because I am confident you will see and experience a difference. Thank you visiting, enjoy your stay and I look forward to meeting you and your family in the future.

Dr. Michael R. Virro, MD, FRCS(C)
Medical Director and Owner, Cells for Life, Ltd.