Photo: Cole Baranowski (Courtesy UNC Health Talk)
An Umbilical cord blood donation saves the life of a one-year-old boy with leukemia. Cole Baranowski was scheduled to get a bone marrow transplant earlier this year, but a week before the procedure, the donation fell through. The one-year-old North Carolina boy had been diagnosed with leukemia the year before and had been through two rounds of chemo to get healthy enough for the bone marrow transplant. And to make matters worse, his cancer was starting to come back. His parents were distraught, but then doctors told them they had another option: an umbilical cord blood donation.
Umbilical cord blood is the blood left inside the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby’s been born and it’s rich in young blood-making cells that can be used to treat more than 70 different diseases. Most of the time, this blood is discarded, but fortunately for Cole, someone decided to donate theirs and they were a match for him.
Thanks to the cord blood donation, Cole is now in remission for leukemia. His mom, Allison Baranowski, says they’re grateful that someone chose to donate their cord blood, saving her son’s life and she hopes their story will encourage others to consider donation. “Awareness about the ability to donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood is so important,” she says. “There’s really no downside to it, and it can literally save a life.”
More information about cord blood donation can be found at BeTheMatch.org
Source: WRAL