This post is sponsored by ViaCord

It’s hard to believe that a new year is just around corner.  Looking back at 2017, there’s so much to be thankful for (family and good health just to name a few)!  Another thing we’re thankful for is the continuous work researchers are doing to unlock new uses for the powerful stem cells found in your newborn baby’s umbilical cord blood.

Thanks to advancing science and technology, efforts are underway to help uncover new uses for these incredible cells in an area known as regenerative medicine – which  is the science of living cells used to potentially regenerate or facilitate the repair of cells damaged by disease, genetics, injury, or simply aging.

Throughout 2017, ongoing clinical trials in regenerative medicine using cord blood have offered hope to families facing life-changing medical conditions, such as cerebral palsy and autism.¹ For some of these families, banking their baby’s cord blood with ViaCord gave them the opportunity to participate in this groundbreaking research.

The Rooney family in particular participated in a recent Phase II Clinical Trial that aimed to show if using a child’s own cord blood could be effective in lessening the symptoms of cerebral palsy. Watch their story below to hear about their experience banking their son Patrick’s cord blood and see how he’s taking on life today.

Hear from more ViaCord families on how the decision to bank cord blood made a world of difference at viacord.com/stories.

References:

1. Effect of Autologous Cord Blood Infusion on Motor Function and Brain Connectivity in Young Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Sun, J. M., Song, A. W., Case, L. E., Mikati, M. A., Gustafson, K. E., Simmons, R., Goldstein, R., Petry, J., McLaughlin, C., Waters-Pick, B., Chen, L. W., Wease, S., Blackwell, B., Worley, G., Troy, J. and Kurtzberg, J. (2017), Effect of Autologous Cord Blood Infusion on Motor Function and Brain Connectivity in Young Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. doi:10.1002/sctm.17-0102. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sctm.17-0102/full