Anand Srinivasan, Director of Innovation & BioDesign, and Jennifer Wehmeyer, Scientist II, Research & Development, help BioBridge Global and its subsidiaries by working on stem cell research projects, with the goal of getting new ideas into the cellular therapy market. They answer the question “What are MSCs?”

What are MSCs?

MSCs stands for mesenchymal stem cells or mesenchymal stromal cells. These are a type of adult stem cell which possess the ability to form/differentiate into other cells such as skin, bone, fat, cartilage, muscle, tendon and blood vessels.

Legally, The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation began on Aug. 19, 2002 when a charter was filed with the state of Texas.

But the origins date to Valentine’s Day, 1993, when a small group of local dignitaries and officials of the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center broke ground on a new facility for the center on Interstate 10. The date was noteworthy because the double hearts had been the organization’s logo for more than 20 years, including its time in the 1920s-era YWCA building in downtown San Antonio.

The new facility opened in 1994 with 80,000 square feet of space that included a state-of-the-art laboratory, donor collection rooms, offices and meeting spaces. It was financed in large part by a tax-exempt bond financed by USAA.