Why Harry’s friend Natalie has had her baby’s blood frozen

No ONE can accuse Prince Harry’s chum Natalie Pinkham of not being forward-looking.

She has had the blood from her baby son’s umbilical cord deep-frozen by a high-tech firm.

Sky Sports presenter Natalie gave birth to her first child, Wilfred, last month and has banked his cord blood with a company that has more than 25,000 samples stored in cryogenic vats.

She opted for the unusual procedure in the hope that the blood — which is rich in potentially life- saving stem cells — could be used if Wilfred became seriously ill when he is older.

‘We see it as the ultimate insurance policy that we hope and pray we never need to use,’ says the 36-year- old Formula one presenter, who married TV executive owain Walbyoff in 2012.

‘We decided that we needed to take this opportunity because we have a responsibility to protect our child.’ She used Biovault in Plymouth, which charges £2,150 to store the blood for 25 years.

‘I first heard about it at my antenatal class in Battersea,’ says the property developer’s daughter.

‘I’d heard of stem- cell treatments and was interested straight away.

‘The potential is so huge and there doesn’t appear to be any downsides.’

Cord-blood transplants are used in the treatment of life-threatening blood disorders such as leukaemia, and could even regenerate body parts in future.

‘I have a real interest in stem- cell research because I have a friend of a similar age in the U.S. who is benefiting from stem- cell treatment for a serious condition.

‘Sadly, I lost a friend to motor neurone disease in his 30s, so I’ve always had a curiosity around the potential of stem cells to treat such diseases.’