A Time to Weep, A Time to Laugh

This week, we met seven-year-old Gina Rugari – a living example of how cord blood stem cell research is helping children born with Krabbe. This is a genetic disorder that almost always results in death before the age of two. Gina’s life was saved through a cord blood stem cell treatment.

Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Duke University Medical Center, is a pioneer of the procedure. Hoping to stop progression of the disease even earlier, she says more research is being done to see if these life-saving transplants can be done on babies still in the womb.

Research shows embryonic stem cells have not cured any diseases. But cells from cord blood – like those Gina received – have resulted in more than sixty treatments for diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia.