About the National Cord Blood Center
The National Cord Blood Center, based on the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center campus, constitutes the leading center for umbilical cord blood collection and banking of all the cord blood units gathered from the country's hospitals. The center has subsidization agreements with all HMOs under their pregnancy and childbirth package.
The collected units are transferred to the Cord Blood Laboratory and Bank at Sheba Tel Hashomer, which has operated under Health Ministry certification since 2000 and constitutes a public and familial national cord blood bank. The bank stores tens of thousands of cord blood units deposited for preservation since its establishment.
The National Cord Blood Center, in addition to providing collection and banking services, channels a unit of its revenue to play a leading role in the development of research and uses for cord blood in the State of Israel as part of the research being conducted at Sheba by Dr. Omer Bar-Yosef, which examines the effect of cord blood on improved functionality among children on the Autism Spectrum through independent cord blood units.
The Medical and Research Team
Prof. Arnon Nagler
Prof. Arnon Nagler, today serving as President of the Hemato-Oncology Center at Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer, had the honor and distinction of establishing the first two cord blood banks in Israel (the first in 1996.)
The National Cord Blood Center was established, inter-alia, following the first cord blood transplant performed in Israel by Professor Nagler.
Prof. Nagler is considered a pioneer and world-renowned in bone marrow transplantation.
Education
- Bone Marrow Transplants, Standford University, USA, 1986 – 1990
- Internal Medicine Residency and Hematology Fellowship at Rambam Medical Center
- Master's Degree in Cellular Biology and Hematopoiesis from Tel Aviv University - Cum Laude, 1984
- Completed his medical studies at the Hebrew University – Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, 1977.
Dr. Omer Bar-Yosef
An expert in pediatric neurology and director of the Weinberg Institute for Child Development at the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center. Director of several cord blood research studies to improve early diagnosis of children with brain injury and provide various treatments for children on the autism spectrum.
Residencies and Advanced Studies
- Chief Resident in Pediatric Medicine, Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hosptial, 2000
- Residency in pediatric neurology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. 2011
Education
- Ph.D. in Neurobiology, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, under the guidance of Professor Israel Nelken, 2003
- Completed his medical studies at the Hebrew University – Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, 2000.
- Bachelor's Degree in Medical Sciences, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 1996
- Bachelor's Degree in Biology and Psychology, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 1993
Shira Reiner
A Registered Nurse at the National Cord Blood Center Specializes in treating children on the autism spectrum and is active in current cord blood research studies. Mother to 4 children on the spectrum.
Following the challenges in her own life, Reiner sees cord blood research as a mission and is well suited to mediate between researchers, the research processes conducted in Israel, and parents who are delving deeper into the subject in search of materials in Israel and around the world, and parents who come with their children to one of Dr. Bar-Yosef's pertinent studies.
Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Nursing with Certification as a Registered Nurse, The Israel Academic College in Ramat Gan, 2010 - 2014
- Advanced Training in Operating Room Techniques, Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center, 2018-2019
- Advanced Training in Public Health and Breast Feeding, 2021 - 2022
The National Cord Blood Center Laboratory
The National Cord Blood Center Laboratory, located and managed at Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center, is responsible for all the clinical testing conducted on each cord blood unit immediately after its extraction and until its preservation at the bank.
All tests are conducted according to the regulatory standards of the Health Ministry and international organizations such as the AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) and Net Cord Fact (Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy.)
Margarita Mayorov
Director of the National Cord Blood Center Laboratory and responsible for all of the laboratory's activities, from the cord blood unit's extraction until it is frozen or released for clinical purposes according to the demand of medical centers in Israel and worldwide.
Education
- Graduate of the Saint Petersburg State Medical University.
- Following advanced training at the Saint Louis Cord Blood Bank in the United States, she established in 2000 together with Prof. Nagler the Sheba Cord Blood Bank.
- Accredited in CB Inspection & Accreditation from the Fact – NetCord - CB Inspection and received training and accreditation as a certified NMDP CBB Coordinator.
- Accredited in GCP- Good Clinical Practice
Polina Baryakh
Quality Control Manager of the National Cord Blood Center, an array of fifteen tests conducted on both the cord blood and the mother's blood.
Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Molecular Biology, Ariel University
- Master's Degree in Developmental Cellular Biology, Tel Aviv University School of Medicine.
- Course Certified in Medical Laboratory Quality Management.
- Course Certified in Calibration and Validation Practices in Medical Laboratories and GCP - Good Clinical Practice
- Course Certified in CRC, CTA, and CRA, Clinical Research Design, Management, and Execution.
Customer Service
Adi Yehuda
Cord Blood Service Coordinator. Adi brings her extensive experience in sales and service to the business and private sectors to the National Cord Blood Center. She holds a bachelor's degree.
The mother of three children.
Pnina Peretz
Cord Blood Service Coordinator. Pnina brings a wealth of experience to the National Cord Blood Center based on three decades of work in the service industry to clients and customers in various sectors. Holds a bachelor's degree.
The mother of two children.
