How Cord Blood is Saving Lives…
Eight year old Joseph Davis Jr. is now a healthy boy but at birth he was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, a chronic blood disorder that deprives cells of proper oxygen, causes periodic painful episodes and reduces life expectancy. Only a bone marrow transplant could help him. Every day, thousands of people with a blood disease search the registry for life saving bone marrow and cord blood donors because they can’t find a match within their families. Cord blood comes from a newborn’s umbilical cord or placenta and contains a high concentration of the hematopoietic stem cells that can help generate new, healthy cells in transplant recipients. The search dragged on for over a year to find a matching donor. Then, a miracle happened: Joseph’s mom, previously told she could not have more children, became pregnant. Meaning not only a new life in the form of a second son, but the stem cells from his umbilical cord turned out to be a match for Joseph, eventually curing him of sickle cell and giving him a healthy life. Doctors and the Davises highly recommend that at the time of birth, a child’s cord blood is saved and frozen, just in case it can be used for life-saving transplants in the future.
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