We saved daughter’s cells and she needed them within a year

ONE couple who chose to store their umbilical cord blood as an investment believe it has already paid dividends.

Kyle and Carla Poppleton banked the cells with private company Smart Cells when their daughter, Paige, was born in London in March 2013.

Carla, 32, who lives in Lincolnshire, said: ‘It is the best investment we could ever have made for our daughter.’

At six months old, Paige was unable to sit up, and kept her right hand in a fist and her toes curled up. At about 12 months old she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition linked to the abnormal development of the brain which affects the ability to control muscles.

Stem-cell treatment for the condition is still highly experimental. It involves infusing the body intravenously with stem cells from umbilical cord blood in the hope that they repair damage to the nervous system and muscles before it becomes permanent, potentially reducing the extent of mobility issues.

A clinical trial of the treatment involving 63 children at Duke University in North Carolina reported last year that those who received a single dose of stem cells from their own umbilical-cord blood had greater mobility a year later than those who did not, or had received a lower dose of stem cells. Carla and Kyle, 35, a professional cyclist, who now also have two sons – Tyler, two, and threemonth-old Ethan – travelled to Duke in May 2014 after Smart Cells exported Paige’s cord blood. By July, the couple noticed a difference.

Carla said: ‘Paige was crawling, and later climbed the stairs, pulled herself up on to furniture and stood while holding my hand.’

Now five, Paige receives physiotherapy and Botox injections – a standard treatment for children with cerebral palsy, as the jabs help relax the muscles – and is ‘very active’. Carla says: ‘She amazes us every day. It is difficult to say if this is due to the infusion or purely from her natural development. We just know we have done everything in our power to help make Paige’s life that little bit easier.’