A Shanghai woman gave birth to a son this year and used the blood from his umbilical cord to save the life of her daughter, who was suffering from leukemia. Yesterday a successful stem cell transplantation was carried out in Suzhou.
The mother had waited unsuccessfully for six years for a suitable blood donation match. The daughter, identified as Chen, was diagnosed to be suffering acute lymphoblastic leukemia six years ago at the age of 5.
She was sent to a hospital in Suzhou for treatment and doctors suggested a hemopoietic stem cell transplantation.
The hospital's hematology expert Dr Wu Depei told the parents that Chen's own cord blood would have been the ideal choice to lower a transplant risk. However, when Chen was born, her cord blood was not stored.
She was put onto a waiting list for donated cord blood that could match her genotype.
To save her daughter, Chen's mother got pregnant again and gave birth to a boy in Shanghai this year. With the help of Shanghai-based China Stem Cell Group, she saved and tested the cord blood. Test results showed it could be used for Chen's treatment.
According to Dr Wu, a leukemia patient has a high chance of full recovery after using cord blood from a relative for treatment.
China Stem Cell Group said it had cooperated with 83 hospitals around the country and had helped with 2,088 cord blood transplant cases in the past 12 years.
