The parents of 4 year old Apratim Dey Singha of Kolkata, India, stored their son's cord blood stem cells at birth. They have now used Apratim's cord blood sample in a clinical trial to help treat his autism.
Apratim first showed signs of autism when he was 18 months old, when his parents noticed that his communication skills weren't progressing as they should.
We were worried but our local paediatrician was positive. He asked us to observe him for another six months. We saw no changes in his behaviour.
- Apurba Dey Singha, Apratim's father
A specialist in Delhi diagnosed Apratim with Autism, a disorder that affects social skills, speech, non-verbal communication and other behaviours, as well as unique strengths. Each person with autism is different, as they can present certain traits to different degrees.
After researching potential treatments, Apratim's parents discovered a Duke University clinical trial in 2014 which had begun using cord blood stem cells to treat autism. The results eventually showed that autistic participants showed improvements in social skills, vocabulary and behaviour just 6 months after their cord blood therapy.
In 2017 when Duke University openly published the results, the family was keen for Apratim to participate in a further clinical trial using his stored cord blood stem cells. After a number of initial tests, the 4 year old was accepted for the trial and his therapy took place in the United States in July 2017. 9 months later, Apratim's father said he noticed huge improvements in his son's communicative and cognitive skills.
Parents have been urged not to jump to conclusions about the effectiveness of this clinical trial just yet, as there is much more refinement to be done. However, Apratim is a fantastic example of how cord blood therapy could change the lives of autistic children for the better.
We were happy that we made a wise decision of preserving our baby's umbilical cord stem cells...which were used to treat my son for autism. Today, we are seeing great progress in terms of development milestones in my son.
- Apurba Dey Singha
You can read in full about the Duke University's cord blood therapy clinical trial here.
