Cord Blood Used to Cure Thalassemia

Eight-year-old Thamirabharuni has been saved by a cord blood transplant from her one-year-old brother, Pugazhendhi. Because of the transplant, Thamirabharuni has been cured of Thalassemia, a blood disease that causes excessive destruction of the patient’s red blood cells.

Thamirabharuni’s parents spent most of her life searching for a donor, but the search proved unproductive as her doctors could not find any matches for the child. It was only when her younger brother was born that her family began to see some hope for the future: he presented a perfect match for his sister.

Without Pugazhendhi’s cord blood, his sister would have required 200mL of bone marrow, which would have been nearly impossible to extract from a child his age. Luckily, his parents had chosen to bank his cord blood, hoping that it could be used to save their daughter.

One hundred days after the transplant, Thamirabharuni’s doctors state that she has been cured of Thalassemia. She is just one of several children who have recently been implanted with cord blood to cure this life-threatening disease. Thamirabharuni and the others demonstrate the life-saving properties of banked cord blood and their stories should encourage parents to explore their option of storing their children’s cord blood.

 http://www.zimbio.com/Stem+Cells/articles/WyxZmhdx_wt/Thalassemia+cured+using+cord+blood+stem+cells