In addition to Red Cell Antibody Screening and Bacterial Contamination, we test all platelets used to manufacture Clearsate for: Hepatitis B & C , HIV 1 & 2, Syphilis HTLV I / II, Chagas, West Nile Virus
FAQ
Clearsate is triple filtered with a 0.2μ final filtration.
All platelets used are first leukoreduced to less than 5.0x106/mL.
Utility Studies have shown working concentrations to be between 2.0% and 10.0%. Optimal concentrations should be determined by user. Actual concentrations of Clearsate required are often significantly less than FBS.
Yes. We currently have 1.0L, 0.5L, 250mL, 125mL, and 50mL product volumes. Please call to discuss other volume or batch requirements.
Frozen up to 1 year, at ≤ -20˚C.
We recommend that each user of Clearsate first determine the optimal concentrations of Clearsate media supplement for their cells. Utility studies have shown that Clearsate, in optimized concentrations, can perform as good as or better than FBS with many different cell types.
Yes. The lysate is made from platelets that are tested for bacterial contamination. Each batch is sterile filtered and sterility tested.
Clearsate is rich in both Platelet Derived Growth Factor’s (PDGF’s) and (TGF-ß’s).
No. There are absolutely no animal or plant based materials used to make Clearsate.
No. There are no other additives, or chemicals added which could have any adverse effects on cell growth or expansion. There are also no added antibiotics or preservatives.
No anticoagulant is used in making Clearsate nor is it required to add any anticoagulant when using Clearsate.
Clearsate is manufactured from saline washed platelets and contains a controlled amount of residual plasma.
Clearsate is a fully human based lysate manufactured from platelets collected from normal healthy blood donors, rich in numerous platelet derived growth factors. It is intended as a replacement for Fetal Bovine Serum and AB Serum.
Donating your baby’s cord blood is free.
Donating to the public cord blood bank is completely free. There are no costs to you when you donate your baby’s cord blood to a public cord blood bank. Neither you nor your baby will receive any compensation for donating your baby’s cord blood to this program. All associated costs will be paid by the San Diego Blood Bank Cord Blood Program. Neither you nor your insurance will be charged for any expenses.
A new birth provides hope for others.
Cord blood contains many immature cells. The cells are collected, processed and stored at the San Diego Blood Bank. If the cells meet certain criteria, the cord blood unit is listed on a national registry, making it available to patients around the world for possible matching and use. Cord blood cells are used to treat patients with diseases such as leukemias, lymphomas, anemias, immune diseases, metabolic disorders and other conditions.
Cord blood collection is a safe and non-invasive process. If a woman chooses to donate umbilical cord blood, labor and delivery is not affected. No blood is taken from the baby, only from the umbilical cord after the baby is born and separated from cord. After the cord blood is collected, it is stored in the Cell Therapy Center at San Diego Blood Bank's headquarters and made available through the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) Be the Match cord blood registry for life-saving transplantation in patients.
When a patient needs a transplant, his or her doctor will search Be the Match for a matching cord blood unit or adult marrow donor. If a cord blood unit is found to be the best choice, the cord blood is infused into the patient’s blood where the healthy cord blood stem cells replace the patient's damaged bone marrow stem cells, restoring the patient's immune system to protect them from life threatening infections.
Your privacy is protected.
Names and contact information of cord blood donor mothers and babies are never shared. To protect you and your baby’s privacy, a unique identification number will be assigned to you and your baby’s cord blood. The unique identification number will be used for all cord blood samples during collection, testing and processing. The link between you and your baby’s name and you and your baby’s unique identifying numbers will be kept in a locked file cabinet in a restricted area of San Diego Blood Bank.
A Cord for the Community
If you want to donate your baby’s cord blood to the San Diego Blood Bank’s Cord Blood Program you should first.
- Confirm delivery facility is a participating hospital
- Review the Cord Blood Donation Information form (Spanish version)
- Notify your physician or midwife of your decision
- Review the Permission to Collect form which is also available on labor and delivery floor of participating hospitals. (Spanish version)
- Complete and provide permission to collect form to the labor and delivery staff
At the time of your delivery, if you meet the initial screening requirements, a kit from San Diego Blood Bank will be available for collection. You will be asked to donate blood samples used to test for infectious diseases. Blood samples will only be drawn from mother, not baby.
If you wish to contact an independent third party not connected with this study about problems, concerns, questions, information or input, please contact NMDP Donor Advocacy Program at 1-800-526-7809, extension 8710.
Your decision can give someone else a tomorrow.
Donating cord blood is safe for you and your baby. Right after your baby is born and takes its first breath, the umbilical cord is cut to separate the baby from the placenta. Blood left in the cord and placenta is collected by gravity into a special bag. The collection takes a few minutes and does not interfere with the baby bonding process.
As you celebrate the birth of your baby, consider donating the cord blood and celebrate twice. You can help others get the transplants they need by donating your baby’s cord blood to the San Diego Blood Bank.
A new birth provides diversity.
Cord blood has several advantages for life saving transplantation procedures. Cord blood doesn't have to match a patient's tissue type as closely as donated bone marrow stem cells from adults and therefore more patients are able to receive transplants. Also, cord blood is safer because there is less risk of graft versus host disease, a condition where the stem cells that are infused can attack the patient that receives them.
More than 40 percent of cord blood units used in Be the Match transplants go to ethnically or racially diverse patients. A key problem for transplantation is that minorities are an underserved group due to the lack of acceptable bone marrow matches available to them. The San Diego Cord Blood Bank has the unique advantage of having access to a large population of racially and ethnically diverse people, so cord blood collection in our community makes good sense. Donating to a public cord blood bank is free. Donating to this bank, just like the blood bank, means the cord blood is available to any patient who needs a transplant.
San Diego Blood Bank’s Cord Blood Program serves as a public cord blood bank in California and has cord blood collection agreements in place with participating hospitals in the greater San Diego and Sacramento regions.
In the past, when a baby was born the umbilical cord was discarded as medical waste. Medical research has since shown that cord blood is a rich source of life-saving stem cells that can be used to treat serious health problems in patients. Now blood from the umbilical cord is collected after a baby's birth and donated to a public cord blood bank like the one at the San Diego Blood Bank. That cord blood can help someone with a life-threatening disease.
A new birth provides hope for a cure.
Donated cord blood units that do not meet minimum criteria to be listed on a registry and used for transplant may be used for research, quality control and other studies. All cells are valuable to help improve the process, find new treatments and provide a future for others.
We are moving into a new era of cell-based therapies worldwide, and the Cell Therapy department is deeply involved in carrying out research to supply stem cell products and services to academic and biopharmaceutical researchers for the development of new cell-based therapies for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including cancer, immune and genetic disorders. We are also carrying out our own internal research programs with cord blood stem cells to develop therapies targeting cancer and immune disorders and exploring opportunities in the new field of regenerative medicine, using cell therapy for the treatment of age-related disorders such as cardiovascular, neurological and autoimmune problems.
- All blood types are needed for blood donation. We often have requests for the following:
- All donation types - Whole Blood and Platelets
- AB donors - Plasma
- O, A and B donors - Red Cells
After you donate, your unit of Whole Blood is divided into different components and transfused into patients who need the specific component. Some examples of how your blood is used are:
- Auto Accident: 50+ units of Whole Blood
- Heart Surgery: 2 - 4 units of Red Blood Cell and a unit of Platelets
- Organ Transplant: 10-20 units of Red Cell, 1-2 units of Platelets, 10-20 units of Cryoprecipitate, 5-10 units of Plasma
- Bone Marrow Transplant: 20 Red Cells, 25-100 units of Platelets
- 3rd Degree Burns: 10-30 Red Blood Cells, 10-30 Plasma, 2-5 units of Platelets
- Plasma: Fluid portion of blood containing water, proteins, glucose, electrolytes, enzymes and hormones and is most important for adequate clotting
- Red Cells: Carries oxygen from the lungs to all the tissues in the body and returns carbon dioxide to the lungs
- White Cells: Protects against disease and infection
- Platelets: Small plate-shaped cells that cluster together to help clot blood when bleeding occurs
As a rule, women have approximately 10 pints and men have approximately 12 pints of blood
This is an average distribution of the blood types in the United States. The distribution may be different for specific ethnic groups:
- O Rh-positive - 38 percent
- O Rh-negative - 7 percent
- A Rh-positive - 34 percent
- A Rh-negative - 6 percent
- B Rh-positive - 9 percent
- B Rh-negative - 2 percent
- AB Rh-positive - 3 percent
- AB Rh-negative - 1 percent
San Diego Blood Bank depends on the generosity of volunteer donors. Since studies have shown that the safest blood comes from volunteer donors, the State of California does not allow payment to donors for blood products intended for transfusion.
- Donors with type O- red blood cells are referred to as universal donors and their red blood cells can be given to any other blood type
- Donors with type AB+ are referred to as universal recipients and can receive red blood cells from any other blood type
- Donors with type AB- are universal plasma donors and can give plasma to any other blood type
To make sure that we are providing patients with the safest possible blood, the FDA requires that we ask about your medical history every time you donate.
Every time you donate, blood samples are taken for testing. Testing is completed for blood type and viruses such as Hepatitis and HIV. If your blood tests show that your blood may make someone sick, it will not be used and you are notified.
Avoid strenuous activity and heavy lifting for about 24 hours after donation. Most donors can resume normal activity after that time.
Most people feel fine after donation. You will enjoy refreshments after you donate and we will instruct you to drink plenty of fluids for the next 24 hours.
There is a little sting when the needle is inserted, but you should be comfortable during the donation.
It takes about an hour to go through all of the steps to donate Whole Blood and a little longer for other donation types:
- At registration you will give your name, date of birth, address and other demographic information.
- Medical screening will include answering confidential medical history questions, getting a finger stick to get a hemoglobin check from a drop of blood and receiving a blood pressure, temperature and pulse check.
- You will donate a unit of whole blood through a needle in your arm in about 10 minutes. This step may take longer for different donation types.
- After your donation you will relax for 15 minutes and enjoy refreshments.
You must show a photo ID, such as a Driver's License. In addition, it is helpful if you bring the following:
- A list of medications you are taking
- A list of places you have visited outside of the U.S. in the past 3 years
It is most important to drink plenty of fluids prior to donating. It is also important that you continue with your normal eating habits before donating.
Yes! The needle and bags used to collect the blood are used only once then discarded. You cannot get HIV or other infectious diseases from donating blood.
- Whole Blood - every 8 weeks
- Double Red Blood Cells - every 16 weeks
- Platelets - every 2 weeks
- Plasma - every 4 weeks
- Donors must be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds
- Donors must be in good health and feel well on the day of donation
- All donors must show a photo ID at the time of donation
- Click on this link to check our list of other Donor Requirements
- Click on this link for information you should know before you donate.
