BUSINESS is booming for Cells4Life, which has grown to be the UK’s leading cord blood bank over the past 16 years.

The Burgess Hill company now stores more than 110,000 stem cell samples across its two laboratories and has more than 50 per cent of the UK market.

For serial entrepreneur and chairman Wayne Channon the mission from the outset has always been to promote regenerative medicine.

He said: “We’re passionate about giving people the opportunity to access the best treatments.

“In future, stem cells could repair, replace or restore their diseased or damaged tissue – storing the umbilical cord is the key to unlocking those possibilities.”

In recent years, growing demand for cord blood banking and the firm’s international success led Wayne to purchase more land in Mid Sussex.

In the next few years, Cells4Life will expand in Burgess Hill, alongside Wayne’s other bioscience companies, CyteTech and Stabilitech Biopharma.

The region was recently chosen as the site of a new science park because of its proximity to Gatwick and Heathrow airport, its access to London facilities, and the opportunity to generate new job opportunities for students from Sussex, Brighton and London universities.

He said: “Sussex is the ideal base for Cells4Life, CyteTech and Stabilitech,

“In Burgess Hill we can get the highest quality technical people coming out of the Brighton and London based universities and our proximity to the UK’s major airports means we can receive and process stem cell samples from all over the world within just 48 hours of procurement.”

Cells4Life was established in 2002 as the UK’s first stem cell storage and collection service.

The company collects samples from the umbilical cord, which is a rich source of powerful stem cells that can already be used to treat over 80 diseases.

Stem cells are also being investigated in more than 6,500 clinical trials.

They are expected to be one of the cornerstones of regenerative medicine.

In the past year, the Food and Drug Authority has given permission to Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, to offer expanded access to cord blood therapy for children with neurological conditions, particularly cerebral palsy and autism.

Following this approval, two British families who stored cord blood with Cells4life travelled to America so their children could take part.

With word spreading about the potential benefits of cord blood banking, many celebrity parents have invested in the process.

McFly drummer Harry Judd and his wife Izzy banked their first child’s umbilical cord, and earlier this year, Sugababes singer Heidi Range decided to bank the cord blood from her first child, Aurelia Honey.

Wayne has this advice for parents.

He said: “Stem cells have been used in more than one million transplants worldwide.

“Storing a baby’s cord blood stem cells gives them access to a wider choice of treatments in future.

“It could treat everything from blood and immune diseases, to conditions that affect all of us in later life, like stroke, heart disease and diabetes.

“Storing a sample means that there is no need to wait for stem cells to become available and little risk of rejection.

“Importantly, stem cell collection also has no impact on the birthing plan and does not interrupt your bonding time with your newborn after birth.

“There is also a chance that close relatives could benefit from each other’s cord blood, if they need treatment.

“A sibling has a 25 per cent chance of being a perfect match, and a 75 per cent of being a partial match.”

For a more information on cord blood banking and Cells4Life visit https://cells4life.com/