Very low birthweight babies (VLBW, weighing less than 1500 grams at birth) are at high risk of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), hydrocephalus, seizures, neurodevelopmental handicaps and death. The amount of blood needed for initial blood tests can require as much as 10% of the VLBW baby’s blood volume, thereby requiring donor blood transfusions. Tranfusion with adult donor blood is thought to contribute to IVH and damage to the VLBW neonate due to rigid adult cells flowing through fragile neonatal veins. This can be avoided by taking many or all of the baseline blood samples from fetal blood remaining in the placenta rather than drawing blood from the newborn infant. An initial study has been published showing improved outcomes when samples are taken via placental draw (report available upon request). In addition to drawing initial blood for testing, the single stick device can be used to obtain additional blood that can be used in an autologous transfusion to the newborn. Costs associated with a donor blood transfusion is estimated to exceed $300, not including treatment of complications due to the incompatibility of adult blood in neonates. There are 4.3M births per year in the US, with 1.4% resulting in VLBW babies (60,200 VLBW neonates). If the product captures 20% market share, this represents 12,000 units in the US alone. It is also possible that such a device may benefit babies of less than 2500g, which represents 7.6% or 326,800 neonates in the US alone. This device is anticipated to significantly improve outcomes for VLBW babies. A patent application covering various embodiments of the placental blood drawing system are currently pending. Prototypes have been made and initial clinical studies are being planned to validate the device and its uses. This technology is available for license from Intermountain Healthcare. Please contact Mike Mayer, 801-408-1095, mike.mayer@imail.org for additional information.