When Maxim and his twin sister were born seven years ago in Ukraine, their mother, Olga, had already made the decision to store their cord blood stem cells at birth. While both twins seemed healthy at first, it was only a few months before Maxim started eating and sleeping poorly.
Chis Barr was left paralysed from the neck down after sustaining spinal cord injuries in a surfing accident. That is, until he was offered to participate in a life-changing stem cell therapy study.
New therapeutic evidence has demonstrated that umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can safely and effectively improve motor and comprehensive function in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
At only four years old, Henrique is the first person in Portugal to receive an infusion of his own cord blood stem cells, in what’s known as an autologous cord blood transplant. The stem cells were used to successfully put Henrique in remission from severe aplastic anaemia.
A recently published paper in the Stem Cell Research & Therapy medical journal shows that umbilical cord tissue can provide large volumes of stem cells over a prolonged period. In theory, this means that people with stored cord tissue could have more stem cells available to them for multiple treatments.