Maia's Cord Blood Miracle - Part 2 of 2

Part 2 of 2 A re-infusion of stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood changed the life of 4-year-old Maia Friedlander, who was developmentally delayed from birth. She received a second chance thanks to a groundbreaking procedure pioneered by Dr Joanna Kurtzberg, a leading pediatric oncologist at Duke University in North Carolina, USA.

Maias parents first heard about cord blood being used to repair brain injury when Mary Schneider, who was the first person to have the treatment for her son Ryan's cerebral palsy, visited New Zealand in April this year. Three years on, Mary says Ryan is clear of all issues, needs no more therapies, and is completely well, a typical five-year-old boy. The Friedlanders were determined to get Maia into the Duke programme and emailed and phoned almost daily for the next four months. They felt they had nothing to lose and owed it to Maia to see whether this could change her life too. Their persistence paid off.

In late August, Maia and her mum Jillian flew to Duke to have the stem cells her parents stored with CordBank New Zealand put back into her blood stream via an intravenous drip. Once in her system, its a matter of waiting for her cord blood stem cells to find their way to the damaged tissue in her brain and start rebuilding it. Jillian didnt have to wait long. Only two days after Maias re-infusion, her balance seemed to have improved. Her eyes became more focused and alert, she could run with confidence and she even started talking; things she simply hadnt done before.

http://www.cordbank.co.nz/cord-blood-banking/

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Science & Technology

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• cerebral
• palsy
• Parkinsons
• Alzheimers
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