Supporting our Maintenance Community - Children's Hospital Stem Cells

UpKeep Donates to Maintenance Needs in our Communities

This week, more than four dozen cancer patients at Children's Hospital Los Angeles lost their stored stem cells when a hospital freezer malfunctioned. The stem cells were collected from the children before they began treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, and were preserved in the freezer in case of relapse.

CHLA's Chief Medical Officer explained the unfortunate occurrence, "One of the freezer's sensors failed and the notification process...failed and so we lost those specimens." Additionally, CHLA has released a statement, saying:

"Safeguards were in place at the time but were insufficient. Since that time, we have replaced the freezer that malfunctioned, upgraded our sensor monitoring and alert system, double-checked all power supply sources, increased our maintenance schedule, and launched training for the engineering team on the new system."

We support the improvement of CHLA's maintenance program to ensure that this devastating event does not happen again. To the families and children who lost their stem cells, we extend our support as well.

If you would also like to donate to this cause, you can do so here. 

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