Vitalant is a pioneer in cord blood banking and one of the few organizations in the United States that supports both public donation and private family banking.
With decades of experience in stem cell collection, processing, cryopreservation, storage, and release coordination, Vitalant has helped shape the cord blood industry while maintaining rigorous quality and safety standards.
Today, Vitalant is part of a nationally recognized blood and biotherapies organization that supports hospitals, transplant centers, researchers, and families across the country. Their experience managing both public and private inventories provides a unique depth of expertise that benefits every sample they process.
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Stem cell banking is not just about storage — it is about preserving the highest-quality sample possible for potential future use.
Vitalant has extensive experience releasing cord blood units for clinical applications and transplantation.
Anja Health has also maintained a 100% success rate for client transfers to date.
Not all cord blood samples are the same, so we do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach.
Some cord blood banks rely heavily on automated processing systems, which can be efficient but may be less flexible when a collection is smaller, delayed, or requires more careful handling.
Anja Health works with Vitalant to use processing methods that can be adjusted based on the condition, timing, and volume of each individual sample. This helps maximize the recovery of valuable stem cells instead of forcing every collection through the exact same process.
From intake to processing and cryopreservation, each step is handled with the goal of protecting cell viability, maintaining sample integrity, and preserving your family’s options for the future.
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Vitalant’s laboratory team follows validated procedures and quality controls throughout the process, helping ensure that every sample receives the attention required for long-term preservation.
Vitalant began as the Salt River Valley Blood Bank in Phoenix, one of the first community blood centers in the country. Today it is the nation's largest independent nonprofit blood and biotherapies provider, serving approximately 900 hospitals.
Irwin Memorial Blood Bank established its scientific services department, laying the foundation for what is now the Vitalant Research Institute - a world-renowned center for transfusion medicine, blood science and cellular therapy research.
The New Jersey cord blood laboratory opened and has since processed more than 40,000 cord blood units. It is the same FDA-registered lab that processes and stores stem cells for Anja families today.
Vitalant researchers challenged the “Transient Warming Events” phenomenon and found no statistically significant differences in stem cell quality. Gold Star Award for Best Poster at the AABB Annual Meeting.
Ten blood centers across 28 states came together under the Vitalant name, and the New Jersey and Pennsylvania cord blood programs merged into Vitalant Cord Blood Services - pairing local expertise with national scale.
Vitalant’s Cord Blood Department began supporting mononuclear cell collections for CAR-T cell manufacturing through Johnson & Johnson. Staff completed technical transfer training and standardized cryopreservation procedures with Vitalant’s Arizona Cellular Therapy Lab before receiving the first MNC collections in August 2025.
Continuing to advance stem cell preservation and support future therapeutic possibilities for families everywhere.
Presented at the AABB Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA, where it received a Gold Star Award for Best Poster.
The resulting publication has been downloaded thousands of times and continues to advance the science of long-term stem cell preservation.
Advanced cryopreservation techniques to preserve cell viability and integrity.
Supporting real-world cell therapies with rigorous quality and safety.
Experience in handling, processing, and coordinating complex cell collections.
Vitalant Cord Blood Services maintains high industry standards and is assessed by federal, state, and industry organizations.
