Bedfordshire mum donates umbilical cord blood then her daughter's life is saved by a similar transfusion
Ellaria received a cord blood transplant for leukaemia treatment
A mother who donated her newborn’s umbilical cord blood later found her own child’s life was saved by a similar transplant years later.
Natasha Kirkpatrick donated her daughter Ellaria’s cord blood after she was born in 2017 at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital.
Five years later, in 2022, Ellaria needed an emergency cord blood transplant after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of two. Chemotherapy had failed, and her leukaemia had relapsed.
Ellaria’s transplant at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children followed a cancelled stem cell transplant when the original donor contracted Covid-19.
Mrs Kirkpatrick, 37, a teacher from Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, said she was familiar with cord blood donation as she had done it herself years prior.
"The actual stem cell transplant is not scary - it's syringes and the stem cells going into the blood - but it was a very hard time overall," she said.
"Ellaria had a virus and was an inpatient for a good five months. She is still being monitored and has some after-effects that affected her heart and brain a little. You would not know what she has been through from looking at her, but what she has been through is just incredible."
Ellaria is now eight and in Year 4 at primary school. Her mother described her as a “typical girl” who enjoys music, dancing, and making jokes.
Mrs Kirkpatrick, who is currently pregnant with her fourth child, commended the anonymous donor who had saved Ellaria's life through cord blood donation.
"There are really no words to express how I feel," she said. "I just think it's great that people do it - and I was proud to do it myself."
NHS Blood and Transplant celebrates 1,000th cord blood donation
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has reached the milestone of issuing its 1,000th unit of donated cord blood for stem cell transplants.
The donation came from its cord blood bank facility in Filton, Bristol – one of the largest such banks in the world, holding almost 20,000 donations.
The 1,000th and 999th units were issued to treat a young adult with leukaemia earlier this year.
Cord blood donation is an option for women giving birth at University College Hospital, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, and St George's Hospital. This blood, which is rich in stem cells, can be frozen and preserved at minus 196C until needed, and could assist patients decades after donation.
Recently, NHSBT's cord blood transplants have supported hospitals in the UK and internationally, including facilities in Glasgow, Birmingham, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Alex Ross, head of NHS Blood and Transplant's Cord Blood Bank, shared the importance of these donations: "The placenta and cord are usually thrown away but when donated they can save lives.
"A transplant from stem cells found in cord blood can be a very effective type of treatment for certain conditions, for example in patients with acute leukaemia or severe immunodeficiencies.
"Stem cells from cord blood can be safely stored for years. Your baby may be grown up by the time they save a life, perhaps even older than the recipient - it's a very special way to donate."