When Sparrow Morris was born she was a healthy child, she was her parent’s fifth child. What was different about Sparrow was that her parent’s decided to bank her umbilical cord blood. Sparrow’s parents were unaware of cord blood banking with their previous children but decided to bank hers.
When Sparrow was a baby she was involved in an accident, she almost drowned in a pool in the family’s back garden. Sparrow was without a pulse for 47 minutes. The accident left Sparrow with severe brain damage. Sparrow was enlisted on to several therapies to help her development and while Sparrow continued to improve it was at a slow pace.
15 months after Sparrow’s accident, she was accepted onto the clinical trial at Duke University where her cord blood was re-infused into her body. Sparrow’s mother noticed that the results were evident from the very next day with Sparrow smiling and initiating conversation, something Sparrow hadn’t previously done. Even Sparrow’s walking had improved.
Sparrow’s parents banked her cord blood thinking that they would never need to use it. As a result, Sparrow’s life has dramatically improved after the accident, had her parent’s not had the foresight to bank her cord blood it is likely her progress would have continued at a much slower pace. Sparrow no longer attends any therapies and can continue to live a normal life.
Sparrow’s story is not unique. The trial by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg at Duke University is highly acclaimed and delivering wonderful results for children who have suffered a brain injury and have banked their cord blood with a reputable bank.