Cord blood opens up new life and normal schooling for children with autism

　　Speaking of autism, everyone may have some understanding, in fact, autistic children are around us, some of them can not speak, some can not be quiet, how to let these "children who have been kissed by God" get effective treatment, is a scientific research and medical workers have been trying to solve the problem, and cord blood treatment for them to open a new door.

　　Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that includes disorders of communication and social interaction that exhibit restrictive and repetitive behaviors. According to statistics, 1 in 66 Canadian children is affected by autism spectrum disorder.

　　Annette's son, Blake, was unfortunately suffering from autism. But fortunately, she and her lover had previously saved umbilical cord blood for their children.

　　After learning that Duke University had conducted a research program on cord blood transfusion for autism and that more than 500 children with autism had participated in the program, Annette decided to perform cord blood transfusion treatment for Black.

　　The treatment process went very smoothly. Shortly after the operation, Blake's mother, Annette, said that after the transfusion of cord blood, Blake's quality of life was greatly improved. "He suddenly understood better what we were talking about. His school teacher felt he was more interested and attentive to his peers. ”

　　Nine months after the infusion, Blake entered full-time study in his second year. Annette was incredibly proud of that.

　　Save cord blood in advance

　　"Listen to what might happen"

　　Annette, an experienced nurse in London, England, was introduced to her by a colleague during her first pregnancy.

　　"She told me about cord blood and the use of stem cells and said, 'The science behind this is amazing,'" Annette recalls. Annette's colleagues said firmly: "If I'm pregnant, I'll go and look at this resource because you never know how it might help in the future." ”

　　After learning about cord blood, Annette and her husband decided to store their first child's cord blood as an insurance policy.

　　"Actually, our two children, Caitlin and Black, both had cord blood in stockpiles, and we stored it in the cord bank and then went on with our lives, and there was nothing different about it, and we never considered using it."

　　However, when their son Blake was one year old, something unusual happened.

　　Cord blood became the hope for recovery for children with autism

　　The situation is deteriorating

　　Annette said worriedly: "I began to notice that Blake was not developing normally, he was only immersed in his own small world. ”

　　Blake didn't respond to sounds and didn't make eye contact. "I can see he didn't listen to what I said," annette mused, and I would say his name not far from him, but he wouldn't look at me. ”

　　At the time, Annette did not think that Blake might have autism. "I was concerned that he had hearing impairment because he didn't show the typical symptoms associated with autism."

　　The family asked specialists to evaluate Blake and soon began language therapy. After a long process, when Blake was three and a half years old, he was diagnosed with autism.

　　Upon hearing the news, Annette was struck by lightning, but she was never willing to give up. For several years after her diagnosis, she sought different treatment options for Blake.

　　Cord blood brings hope

　　The turnaround occurs

　　Things quickly took a turn for the better. Annette remembers opening an email one day and seeing the real-time communication from the cord blood bank. Inside is a research program from Duke University Medical Center that uses cord blood to help treat autism.

　　In October 2017, the FDA approved the program to allow families to provide sibling or autologous (children's own) cord blood transfusion therapy to children with a variety of brain disorders, including autism.

　　Annette immediately contacted cord blood banks and Duke University for more information. With children all over the world looking to join the program, Blake was only temporarily added to the waitlist.

　　A year later, Blake was allowed to join the program, and his cord blood was extracted from the cord blood bank and transported to Duke University for infusion.

　　Cord blood opens up new life for children with autism

　　In November 2019, six-year-old Blake's family traveled to North Carolina to receive an infusion of their own cord blood before returning to Canada for continued treatment.

　　In late February 2020, the school's teachers began to notice Blake's change, and he was more interested and focused on his peers. However, when the pandemic restrictions were imposed in March, Blake's treatment and school classes were forced to stop.

　　However, in the months that followed, annette saw improvements in Black's communication despite not being treated. "He seemed to suddenly understand what we were saying."

　　Annette realizes that Blake's progress may be related to his natural progress, but the changes in Blake are obvious to her and others.

　　Nine months after his infusion of cord blood, Black passed the exam and entered full-time study in his second year. This is an important milestone for the whole family.

　　Annette was incredibly proud of him, "He's done a great job," she laughed.

　　Asked if she would advise other expectant parents to consider storing their children's cord blood, Annette said firmly: "It's definitely something to consider." It's an investment, but you need to see how it will affect your child's life in the long run! ”

　　As Annette said, the future is always an unknown, and we cannot predict the occurrence of diseases, nor can we use probabilities to reassure ourselves that we will not encounter misfortune, so it is extremely important to plan ahead.

　　Cord blood is a long-term and reliable "insurance". In the treatment of many diseases, it has begun to show its unique advantages. Whether it's a blood system, immune system disease, autism or other rare disease mentioned above, the potential of cord blood is still being tapped, and it will become a turning point in the lives of these patients.

　　Therefore, I also hope that more people can pay attention to the role of cord blood and keep this valuable biomedical resource instead of wasting it as medical waste.

　　Maybe now is a small decision that will be a turning point for you and your family to be reborn.