Robert Gendron, VP and General ManagerAs part of Revvity, a publicly traded company focused on life sciences and diagnostics, ViaCord offers cord blood and tissue banking services. Additionally, the company provides trusted genomic solutions, ensuring families are equipped with the tools to make informed health decisions today and in the future.
ViaCord’s approach is deeply rooted in empathy and customer care.
Robert Gendron, VP and general manager, says, “Whether it’s a customer educator that personally delivers a collection kit or lab techs conducting individual tests, we treat each cord blood sample with the utmost respect and sensitivity, knowing that each family cares deeply about their children’s stem cells.”
This customer-centric philosophy shines through in every aspect of ViaCord’s operations. The company recognizes the challenges that families face, from last-minute decisions to bank cord blood, to unexpected diagnoses. With its extensive experience in the field, ViaCord has protocols in place to handle a wide range of situations, ensuring that each family feels cared for and heard.
Customers have used stem cells banked by ViaCord to help treat a wide variety of conditions through transplants or regenerative medicine clinical trials. Today, nearly 80 conditions can use cord blood stems cells to regenerate a healthy blood and immune system, including cancers, blood disorders, and metabolic disorders. Although most conditions are inherited genetic diseases, likely requiring sibling or donor cells, a child’s own cord blood may also be used in certain cases. The field also continues to evolve, providing banking customers with scientific potential into the future.
A powerful example of ViaCord’s impact is the story of Rosalia, a young girl who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia shortly after birth. Despite undergoing conventional treatments and going into remission, her cancer returned. Fortunately, her family had banked the cord blood of her younger sister, Holly, through ViaCord. When Rosalia’s medical team struggled to find a match for a bone marrow transplant, it was discovered that Holly’s stored stem cells were a perfect match. The stem cells from Holly’s cord blood were successfully used in Rosalia’s treatment, contributing to her continued remission today. This story highlights the unexpected but life-changing difference that cord blood banking can make, even when families do not initially anticipate needing it.
ViaCord’s genomic services enhance its offerings, providing families with powerful tools for early health detection. The Genetic Insight Panel analyzes over 290 genes, while the Newborn Whole Genome Sequencing service extends this to 2,500 genes; both tests offer invaluable insights into potential childhood onset-conditions, empowering parents to make proactive decisions regarding their child’s health. If families are not ready or able to take advantage of newborn genomic testing at birth, ViaCord’s DNA Guardian service enables families to save a small sample of their child’s cord blood for genomic testing in the future, ensuring they have the option to purchase a genomic testing service at a later date.
-
Whether it's a customer educator that personally delivers a collection kit or lab techs conducting individual tests, we treat each cord blood sample with the utmost respect and sensitivity, knowing that each family cares deeply about their children’s stem cells
ViaCord’s genomic services enhance its offerings, providing families with powerful tools for early health detection. The Genetic Insight Panel analyzes over 290 genes, while the Newborn Whole Genome Sequencing service extends this to 2,500 genes; both tests offer invaluable insights into potential childhood onset-conditions, empowering parents to make proactive decisions regarding their child’s health. If families are not ready or able to take advantage of newborn genomic testing at birth, ViaCord’s DNA Guardian service enables families to save a small sample of their child’s cord blood for genomic testing in the future, ensuring they have the option to purchase a genomic testing service at a later date.
The value of early detection and intervention cannot be overstated. ViaCord’s Newborn Digestive Health screening, for example, which tests for conditions like celiac disease and lactose intolerance, offers parents the ability to introduce foods containing gluten and/or lactose with care, and helps to bring about diagnoses faster should symptoms appear.
ViaCord’s Sibling Connection Program further demonstrates the company’s commitment to families in need. This program provides free high-quality cord blood collection, processing, and storage for families who have a child diagnosed with a condition that would be treatable with a sibling’s cord blood.
Through its combination of compassionate care, state-of-the-art technologies, and trusted genomic services, ViaCord helps families safeguard their children’s health and also provides them with the information they need to make informed decisions—today and in the years to come.
Advancing Newborn Health Through Science, Empathy, and Innovation: How ViaCord Is Shaping the Future of Family Genetic Wellness
Robert Gendron, VP & General Manager
We are here to support families not just at birth, but throughout their child’s life. By pairing scientific excellence with empathy, we can transform what is possible in newborn and family health.
Deep Dive
Cord Blood and Tissue Banking for Earlier Family Health Decisions
Cord blood and tissue banking now sits at the crossroads of newborn care, regenerative medicine, family health planning, and long-term laboratory stewardship. For executives evaluating a banking partner, the decision goes far beyond simply storing a biological sample at birth. The real question is whether a provider can support families during a narrow and often stressful collection window, preserve future clinical possibilities, and help turn stored biological material into meaningful health insight over time. The value of the service depends on trust before delivery, precision during collection, and clear communication long after storage begins.
Timing is everything in the decision to bank the baby's cord blood. Most parents consider this option while their baby is still in the womb and they weigh medical suggestions, family history, expense and other issues. Reputable companies help with this decision by being transparent about the proven capabilities of cord blood and tissue. They address both established uses for transplants as well as exciting, developing therapies being derived from tissue-derived stem cells, and maintain a healthy skepticism regarding unproven treatments. Those who make inflated promises about future applications while de-emphasizing existing proof could cause harm; in the world of cord blood banking, trust is built through accurate information.
Execution during birth and laboratory handling is equally important. Successful collection depends on coordination among parents, clinicians, couriers, and laboratory teams. Delays, unclear instructions, or inconsistent handling can undermine confidence quickly. The strongest banks approach collection as a coordinated clinical service rather than a simple transaction. They ensure that all pre-delivery support is provided and that trustworthy logistical arrangements are made for a variety of delivery scenarios. Samples are assessed individually and stored to the highest standards possible and are fully traceable, long-term. They do more than store samples-they attend to the medical, practical and human elements of every unpredictable birth.
Currently, the value contributed by the information is increasing. Families are not content with just keeping a bank of data; they want concrete health benefits to discuss in detail with doctors. Cord blood genetics services could empower them by not only storage, but with forward planning too, if they receive an appropriate explanation of tests and counseling. Strong providers understand that genomics should make things clear, not generate extra anxiety. Providers such as these help the families identify risks, act appropriately at the right time, and decide what information will and will not be relevant now and in the future. Clear understandings of the cost, consent, and report are also required as the family is looking back on information years later. Trust and authority are built with these items.
Within this landscape, ViaCord stands out as a balanced and credible option. The company brings more than three decades of cord blood banking experience and offers a broader suite of services that includes cord blood and tissue storage, DNA health insights, Newborn Digestive Health, a Genetic Insights Panel, Whole Genome Sequencing, and Newborn DNA Guardian. The process also shows an awareness of actual family needs, like last-minute pickups and support programs designed to help families in need of a sibling cord blood product. When assessing providers, it is ViaCord's broader perspective on newborn well-being that is most appealing-its well-trained service, excellent science and lifelong support.
...Read more
Cord Blood and Tissue Bank Info
Q1
Why is ViaCord recognized among leading Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Services providers?
ViaCord has built a strong reputation in Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Services through more than 30 years of experience preserving newborn stem cells for families. As one of the longest-standing private cord blood banks in the United States, it has supported hundreds of thousands of families in storing umbilical cord blood and tissue for potential future medical use. Its recognition comes from combining established laboratory infrastructure with accredited processing standards and a strong focus on long-term biological storage reliability. (viacord.com )
Q2
What differentiates ViaCord in cord blood and tissue preservation?
A key differentiator for ViaCord within Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Services is its dual preservation model, which stores both cord blood and cord tissue stem cells. Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells that can develop into blood and immune system cells, while cord tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells that are being studied for regenerative applications. This dual approach increases the range of potential future medical uses compared to storing cord blood alone, supporting broader therapeutic possibilities for families. (viacord.com )
Q3
How does ViaCord support families during the collection and storage process?
ViaCord delivers structured Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Services that begin before birth with the shipment of a collection kit to the family’s healthcare provider. At delivery, trained medical staff collect cord blood and tissue after the umbilical cord is clamped and cut, ensuring the process does not interfere with birth or bonding. The sample is then transported to FDA-registered and AABB-accredited laboratories where it is processed and cryogenically stored under controlled conditions for long-term preservation. (viacord.com )
Q4
What role does technology play in ViaCord’s banking process?
Technology is central to ViaCord’s Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Services, particularly through its use of advanced processing and cryopreservation systems. The company uses multi-compartment storage bags to preserve higher cell counts and maintain sample flexibility for potential future use. It also applies validated laboratory systems to ensure sample integrity, sterility, and traceability throughout collection, processing, and long-term storage stages. These systems help maintain consistency and reliability over extended storage periods. (viacord.com )
Q5
How does ViaCord ensure quality and compliance in storage services?
Quality assurance is a core component of ViaCord’s Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Services, supported by multiple regulatory and accreditation frameworks. Its laboratory operations are FDA-registered and CLIA-certified, and it holds accreditation from organizations such as AABB. These standards ensure that processing, testing, and storage procedures meet strict clinical-grade requirements, supporting long-term sample viability and regulatory compliance across all stored units. (viacord.com )
Q6
Why is ViaCord relevant to modern regenerative medicine and family health planning?
ViaCord remains highly relevant in Cord Blood and Tissue Banking Services due to growing interest in regenerative medicine, stem cell therapies, and personalized healthcare planning. Cord blood stem cells are currently used in established medical treatments for certain blood and immune disorders, while cord tissue stem cells are being studied in clinical research for regenerative applications. This evolving scientific landscape continues to increase the perceived long-term value of preserving newborn stem cells for future therapeutic possibilities. (viacord.com )
