Cord Blood Banking - Blogs, News, and Information

LeAnn Schmidt wants to wake up from her bad dream. The Lake Villa mother of three can see, touch and feel an experience that just does not seem real to her. However, it is.

Unfortunately, her eyes are open and the alarm clock that normally jolts the horrible slumber traumas away has not rung yet -- and might never.  

 Schmidt has to spend almost every waking moment with her happy but ailing son, Kristopher, as he battles the leukemia that threatens to cut short his young life.

Kristopher Schmidt, 6, of Lake Villa with his mother, LeAnn Schmidt.
Kristopher is battling acute myeloid leukemia and will undergo
cord blood treatment Dec. 10. (Marina Samovsky/News-Sun)

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Catherine Pell is a mother who won't take no for an answer. Especially when it comes to Abby, the youngest of her and husband
William's five children. Six-month-old Abby has anoxic brain injury, a condition caused by a lack of oxygen to her brain during birth.

An evaluation at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. at two months of age, revealed moderate to severe brain damage in three out of the four lobes in Abby's brain. Doctors predicted her development would likely be abnormal.

Committed to finding a treatment to help their daughter, the Pell's took a bold step. They were familiar with recent stem cell research, and had banked Abby's cord blood with Cord Blood Registry (CBR). All they needed now was a doctor who would use it to treat Abby.

Caleb Robert Whan's little world revolves around the antics of Spider-Man.

The 3-year-old south Fort Myers boy seldom encounters a "villain'' his Marvel Comics fantasy superhero can't vanquish with a flick of his web.

But on Aug. 10, fun-loving fantasy turned into life-threatening reality for Caleb, son of Rob and Monique Whan, residents of the Villas.

Acute Lympoblastic Leukemia — a disease as scary as its name — invaded Caleb's body.

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Business Wire (11/27) - CBR issued a press release today announcing that the Designated Transplant Program, the first charitable cord blood banking program of its kind, has achieved record growth in 2007. The release indicates the company ended the third quarter of 2007 with the highest revenues and largest cash reserves in its history and that the strength of its core business enables the company to give back to those in need.

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Being a Newburyport firefighter for 32 years may seem like a risky lifestyle. But Leo Rocco's toughest battles weren't fighting fires, but surviving mantle cell lymphoma - not once, but twice.

Rocco, 66, was first diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma - a cancer that affects the lymph nodes - in 2001. It was a lingering sore throat that provided the early clue that something was wrong. But after six months of chemotherapy, he was considered in remission.

When his cancer returned in 2003, his family sought alternative treatment. In 2004, Rocco participated in an experimental trial and became the fourth umbilical cord blood cell transplant recipient at a Boston hospital. 

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A few years ago, when Patricia Hickman was pregnant with her son Tyler, her doctor urged her to save the umbilical-cord blood once he was born.

Similar to a bone-marrow transplant, cord blood can be used to replace unhealthy blood-forming cells with healthy ones.

Tyler, now 6, had healthy blood. But his older brother Tyrone Jr. had sickle-cell anemia.

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Joseph and Darlene Davis of Cedar Hill, Texas are the proud parents of two healthy sons, four-year old Joseph Jr. and two-year old Isaac; the baby Darlene calls her miracle child. 

Joseph Jr. wasn’t always the strong and healthy boy he is today. Diagnosed at birth with sickle cell anemia, Joseph Jr. lived in constant pain. He ran high fevers, suffered from swollen hands and feet and required frequent blood transfusions to control his red blood cell count. To run and play like other kids his age; Joseph Jr. would need a stem cell transplant. "The doctors told us that our son may not be with us for very long," said Joseph Sr. "We didn't even know if he would make it to his teens."

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SACRAMENTO (AP) ―   All we seem to hear about is the controversy surrounding stem cells, but do know what they can actually do? 

A Sacramento boy suffering from an incurable condition may be living proof that stem cells can have remarkable results.  

Dallas Hextell's parents hoped their decision to bank his umbilical cord blood will give him a shot at a normal life. Just 5 days after the procedure to treat Cerebral Palsy, Dallas said his first word "momma".  That was quickly followed by learning to wave and even laughing.

Three months after the treatment, the little boy who didn't have the muscle control to crawl is now scooting all over without using a walker.  He also looking at his parents when they talk to him.

Cord blood stem cells are now being used to treat dozens of medical conditions from heart disease to leukemia.  But banking cord blood is not cheap.  The cost is about $2,000 initially and then $100 every year after that in storage costs.

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As a public service, Cord Blood Registry(SM) (CBR) provides the Designated Transplant Program (DTP), free of charge, to families wishing to store their newborn's umbilical cord blood stem cells for a family member diagnosed with a life-threatening disease treated by stem cells. This includes diseases such as Sickle Cell Anemia and Acute and Chronic Leukemias.

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We all know the importance of the umbilical cord during pregnancy and baby development. But did you know that this cord is also useful after the baby is born? Yes, for ages, this cord and the placenta have been discarded after birth. But, not any longer. Around 30 years ago that researchers confirmed the life saving potential these ignored organs have. The blood extracted from it, referred to as the umbilical cord blood or just cord blood, is rich in stem cells. These very stems cells can save your child’s life and may be even her sibling’s as well, if preserved properly. It has been proved that the umbilical cord blood stem cells are of higher quality than those extracted from the bone marrow.

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There are stem cells that we can harvest that can save lives, but they are cells that are routinely thrown away.

They are the stem cells found in umbilical cord blood.

A new non-profit group in Tucson is trying to raise awareness about the value in saving cord blood.

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Researchers from the University of Minnesota have reported that adults with hematological diseases have a three year survival of almost 50% following umbilical cord blood transplantation after a reduced intensity treatment regimen. The details of this study appeared in the October 15, 2007 issue of Blood.¹

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Holly Maynard (Rochester, N.Y.) - You'd never know by watching Tony Wagner on the soccer field that his family once doubted he'd be alive today to play. 

“He's my miracle baby," said Tony’s mom, Debbie Wagner. 

In 1998, Tony was diagnosed with leukemia. Instead of spending his days in kindergarten, he was in the hospital trying treatment after treatment.

 
TONY WAGNER, NOW 14, FEELS GOOD, PLAYS SOCCER

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A year ago, Carolyne Underwood was a fit and active 25-year-old.

Today, she faces a lifetime in a wheelchair after a rare condition struck, leaving her paralyzed.

The problems began one evening after the bar manager returned from a night out with friends. She went to bed as usual but was woken by terrible chest pains. 

 
Freak condition: 25-year-old Carolyne Underwood was left paralyzed overnight.

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All Samantha Welch and her mother, Faith, wanted was to get some medicine and go home.

It was the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, and family members were visiting from out of town.

Samantha was too busy to be dragged down by the unusual and persistent pain in her shoulders or the uncomfortable blisters that kept appearing in her ears — she called them “ear pimples.”

Sam, normally a healthy and active 17-year-old, had missed several days at Jack Britt High School because of illness.

So Faith — worried that if Sam didn’t take something to feel better she’d spend Memorial Day sick at home — took her daughter to an urgent care center.

All they wanted was some medicine. 

Sam was suffering from acute myeloid leukemia.

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