Four year old Maia Friedlander became a New Zealand medical pioneer when she became one of the first Kiwi children to have her cord blood re-infused for her brain injury.

Maia was less than a year old when parents Jillian and Daniel realised she was developing differently to her twin sister Arielle. She’d been deprived of oxygen at birth and diagnosed with a cerebral palsy-like condition which affected both her speech and movement. She had trouble with balance and was severely restricted in her learning and development. It was hard for her to concentrate and she had very little speech.

Maia’s parents battled hard to help her in any way they could. In 2008, they became aware of a programme at Duke University in the USA, treating children for brain injury with their own cord blood. Because Maia’s cord blood was banked at birth she was able to get this treatment.

In August 2008, Maia was reinfused with her own cord blood at Duke by Dr. Kurtzberg, a leading paediatric oncologist.

Maia with mum, Jillian in the park

The improvements came thick and fast and Maia, now seven and a year 2 student at school in Auckland, is still developing in leaps and bounds.

Maia’s speech therapist, Ann McElwee, has seen dramatic improvements in Maia. Her class teacher, Louise Canning, who worked with Maia last year also says the changes have been remarkable.

 “When Maia first started with us she wasn’t able to work independently and needed constant one-on-one supervision to perform any tasks. Her progress has been absolutely phenomenal. She can now count, read, write and work on her own.”

Two years after her cord blood treatment, life for the Friedlanders is completely different.

“We have a real, active family which we are so thankful for.” “The two sisters interact and Arielle now has a proper playmate. They fight like most siblings which is actually wonderful to see!” says Jillian.

Jillian and Daniel are adamant Maia would not be making this progress without the cord blood re-infusion. “To every person who is pregnant I say bank their baby’s cord blood as you never know when you might need it.”

Professor Zhan-guo Li has worked with a team of researchers from Peking University People’s Hospital, China, to carry out a laboratory study in which cord blood stem cells were used to suppress inflammation and weaken the disease.

Professor Li said, “Very little is known about umbilical cord MSCs, and there has been no previous report about their use in the treatment of RA. MSCs can exert profound immunosuppression, which encourages their use in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as RA. At present, the most common source of MSCs has been bone marrow. However, aspirating bone marrow is an invasive procedure and the number and the differentiating potential of bone marrow MSCs decrease with age. In contrast, the collection of umbilical cord MSCs does not require any invasive procedure.”

The researchers took immune cells from RA patients and showed that the umbilical MSCs were able to suppress the cells’ proliferation, invasive behavior and inflammatory responses. Systemic infusion of the umbilical MSCs into mice was shown to significantly reduce the severity of collagen-induced arthritis.

Speaking about the results, Professor Li said, “RA imparts a massive burden on health services worldwide and none of the currently used agents reaches long term drug-free remission. Therefore, a new and more effective therapy for RA will be very welcome.”

Little Lily Hasselman has already been through a great deal in her first five years. She was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at just six weeks of age and as a result has to endure daily painful physiotherapy, take medication with every meal, and undergo constant medical checks.

Cystic Fibrosis is a life-shortening genetic condition, with no known cure. Many children with the disease used to die in early childhood, but even with treatment advances their life expectancy rarely exceeds 30 years.

However hope is on the horizon. Professor Bob Williamson of Melbourne University is behind a new Australian medical study which aims to prove that umbilical cord blood can successfully treat cystic fibrosis.

The project will use sibling cord blood to regenerate the damaged lung cells of the affected child. “Most CF siblings cord blood has a 1 in 4 chance of being a perfect match that will not be rejected by the immune system of the child living with CF.”

This is where Lily’s little brother and sister come in. Two year old Henri and six month old Zara are both CF-free and had their umbilical cord blood banked at birth with CordBank.

Professor Williamson says Lily’s siblings’ cord blood won’t be used in the study, but will be kept for when a breakthrough comes. The study will prove the safety of the treatment with donated cells from unrelated people, and lab tests are showing positive signs.

Lily’s mum, Sarah-Jayne’s advice to any parent considering storing their baby’s cord blood is, ”Just do it. You never know what might be round the corner and although as parents you hope your children will never need to use their cord blood – it’s a great insurance.”