Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening and progressive condition in which thick mucus mounts up in the lungs, harms your digestion and those infected males are infertile.
This what happened to Charlie Legge. At age five, he becomes the only person in Queenstowner in New Zealand who suffered CF.
His mom, Kate, got pregnant a couple of years after. Before delivery, Kate was advised by her midwife to preserve the umbilical cord in CordBank. The CordBank is a private cord blood bank that offers free services for Kiwi families who have a child with cystic fibrosis. The cord blood is preserved and it is well-kept in a cryogenic storage.
When Charlie became positive of CF, it was a blessing from heaven and the cord blood was used to revive his system. His old cells were altered with new ones and he’s expected to get well in the coming days.
This procedure is called cord blood transplant. The University of Melbourne performed its clinical trials and their research department confirms a transplant used with cord blood stem cells can cure CF.
As a result of cord blood transplant, Charlie becomes better. He received twenty minutes of physio to clear his lungs and took tablets after meals to support digestion.
“Physiotherapy, medication, nutrition and exercise are four important things. Charlie swims, likes his scooter and wants to start ice skating, and we’re going to get a trampoline for him. He’s extremely healthy and he’s never been hospitalised which is very unusual for a five-year-old with cystic fibrosis.” His mother said.
“I definitely think there’s going to be dramatic change with cystic fibrosis in Charlie’s lifetime.”