NOTC banking on support for health project. (Thunder Bay).

A tissue bank may be a good idea in theory, but a study is currently underway to determine whether or not in practice it could sustain itself.

The study is being carried out by the Northwestern Ontario Technology Centre (NOTC) and a group of Thunder Bay medical community stakeholders working together to study the feasibility of a bone tissue bank and umbilical cord blood stein cell bank. The $30,000-study is being funded by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. and Thunder Bay Ventures.

Judy Sander, business manager for NOTC, says the idea came about from a discussion between representatives of the NOTC and a local orthopedic surgeon about the feasibility of a bone tissue bank. Bone tissue is vital in a number of medical procedures and, while there is a limited supply collected in the northwestern Ontario region, more has to be shipped in from other sources throughout Ontario and elsewhere.

The discussion then expanded to include the idea of collecting umbilical cord blood, which contains stem cells. Research is currently underway in a number of disciplines into the use of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, which is collected routinely by many parents for future use for their children, and is also a rich source of stem cells. It is also more widely accepted than another more controversial source, fetal tissue, which is not part of the study.

"The more we looked into it, the more we realized there was potential in it," Sander says. "We also realized that nobody really had the time to devote to a full scale study of it."

Funding from the Heritage Fund and Thunder Bay Ventures made it possible to hire research co-ordinator Yolanda MacKinnon to head up the study with the assistance of a steering committee consisting of Lakehead University vice-president of administration and finance Michael Pawlowski, orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Puskas, head of medical oncology for the Northwestern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre Dr. Dimitrios Vergidis, medical ethicist Dr. Jaro Kotalik, registered nurse Jennifer Jones, CEO of Genesis Genomics Dr. Robert Thayer, senior research specialist for Genesis Genomics Jennifer Maki, David Eryou (LLB), Paul Fitzpatrick, CA and medical practice management expert Kevin McKee.

"It's a real community effort starting from a need seen by local doctors and it's gone from there," says Sander. "It's pretty exciting."

There are a number of issues that need to be addressed in developing this kind of foundation, says Yolanda MacKinnon, research co-ordinator. Primary issues include regulations, tissue sources, demand for the use of such tissue and whether or not such a foundation could financially sustain itself.

MacKinnon says that she has divided the study into two sub-studies to examine the banking of cord blood and the bone tissue banking individually. Many parents have opted to save the blood from their baby's umbilical cord and have been sending it to privately run facilities elsewhere in North America, a fact that bodes well for the feasibility of this aspect of the foundation, MacKinnon says. She is also looking into the accreditation process of the American Association of Blood Banks, a highly respected accreditation agency and the only one of its kind in North America.

Bone tissue is frequently harvested from such procedures as hip replacement and from some traumas.

An important aspect of the foundation would be education into the benefits of donating bone tissue and cord blood. MacKinnon says people are becoming more and more aware of the issues and the importance of things like organ donation.

"There is a rise in donor rates in Canada and the United States, but there is still not enough to keep up with the waiting lists."

The proposed Northern Ontario Medical School will also benefit greatly from the foundation and vice versa.

"We think that these entities would complement each other," MacKinnon says. "The presence of a stern cell and bone bank located near the hospital could draw the interest of prospective medical faculty and students. Additionally, medical faculty might be interested in collaborating with the foundation in research into the therapeutic applications of hematopoietic stem cells."

The feasibility study is expected to take several months but the enthusiasm for it is seen in the effort being put into it, Sander says.

"We have doctors and other very busy people meeting in their free time, at 7a.m., to discuss this," she says. "They can see the potential for this and want to see it happen."