A two year old child from Florida is free of signs of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), a very rare form of pediatric leukemia, seventeen months after receiving a transplant with cord blood from the National Cord Blood Program (NCBP) of the New York Blood Center's Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center.
Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia generally affects children under the age of five and comprises less than one percent of infant leukemias. The prognosis for JMML is generally poor and most children with JMML die before reaching the age of three.
Adolfo Gonzalez was diagnosed with JMML when he was thirteen months old. "Adolfo Gonzalez would most likely not be alive today if it weren't for the cord blood transplant," said Gary Kleiner, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric immunologist at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "The mother who donated her cord blood to the public cord blood bank at New York's National Cord Blood Program basically saved his life."
Adolfo's treatment included chemotherapy to destroy his leukemia cells followed by a cord blood stem cell transplant from NCBP. He did endure some complications, but approximately two weeks after he had received the infusion of the stem cells, his white cell count began to return to normal. Adolfo has no signs of any leukemia seventeen months later.
"We're thrilled that NCBP, the first and largest public cord blood bank in the world, was able to help Adolfo and his family," said NCBP Chief Scientist Pablo Rubinstein, M.D. "He's among almost 3,000 people who have received a match from the 50,000 units we've frozen since 1992."
Note: WCTV in Tallahassee, Florida conducted an in-depth interview with Dr. Kleiner. A full transcript, along with Dr. Kleiner's media contact information, is available at this link:
About National Cord Blood Program (NCBP)
Launched in 1992, NCBP was the first established cord blood bank to collect, process, test and store cord blood units and make them available for transplantation for any patient in need for a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. NCBP accepts requests from all over the world. Cord blood units can be accessed through the NETCord database, and now through the Single Point of Access (SPA) of the National Marrow Donor Program.
About New York Blood Center (NYBC)
New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the nation's largest non-profit, community-based blood centers. NYBC has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to patients in greater New York since 1964. NYBC is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program at the Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world's largest public cord blood bank. NYBC provides medical services and programs (Clinical, Transfusion, and Hemophilia Services) through our medical professionals and transfusion medicine physicians.
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