May 3, 2007 - Local London
It may be the last thing on a woman's mind when giving birth, but a mother who donates blood from her umbilical cord could be giving life to another child, as well as her own.
Leanne Starrs donated her cord blood after giving birth to three children at Barnet General Hospital.
By doing so, she hopes to help patients like four-year-old Jack Cooper, who received a vital stem cell transplant four years ago after being diagnosed with an immune deficiency.
Now Mrs Starrs is supporting the NHS cord bank in encouraging other pregnant women to do the same.
"I think it is a really amazing thing to do, and to think one of my babies may save another's life is a great feeling," she said.
"I have been lucky enough to have three beautiful children and have donated their cord blood each time."
The cord blood bank collects donations from only a handful of hospitals in the area, of which Barnet is one. The blood, which would usually be thrown away, can be used for stem cell transplants in hospitals around the world, to help patients suffering from serious blood disorders like leukaemia.
Blood is taken from a mother's placenta and umbilical cord after the baby has been born, in a process which puts neither of them at risk. Cord blood is rich in stem cells which the body can use to produce normal blood cells. It can be used to help patients whose bone marrow has ceased to function properly because of disease or damage
For patients needing a bone marrow transplant, who cannot find a suitable match, a stem cell transplant could mean the difference between life and death.
Phyllis Teesdale, head of the NHS cord blood bank, said: "Cord blood can help many people because recipients tolerate partial mismatches better than when bone marrow is used. Many mothers are donating their cord blood." Parents Ruth and Steve Cooper, from Abingdon, in Oxfordshire, are among those to have benefited from such donations.
Their son Jack was diagnosed in 2003 with SCID, a condition which left him unable to fight disease. The disorder makes sufferers susceptible to recurrent infections such as pneumonia, meningitis and chicken pox, and many die within their first year of life.
Mrs Cooper said: "When Jack was six months old he was admitted to hospital for tests to investigate a persistent night-time cough. When blood tests revealed he was suffering from SCID, a stem cell transplant was Jack's only chance of survival, and a perfect match to Jack's tissue type was available through a cord blood bank."
Four years on, Jack is leading a normal life - something his parents feared might never happen.
"Looking at Jack now, you would never know he had been so ill," Mrs Cooper added.
"The cord blood donor gave us the chance of life for Jack, and we are forever grateful."
In the past ten years, more than 10,000 women have donated their cord blood to the NHS cord blood bank, but more donations are desperately needed.
Blood donations collected from Barnet hospital are taken to the NHS cord blood bank in Edgware to be processed, screened and tissue typed. They are then stored at temperatures of around -195C and have a shelf life of more than 20 years.
All donations are registered on the British Bone Marrow Registry and on the international cord blood registry, NETCORD, to find a match for patients worldwide.