A five-year-old boy was able to leave home for the first time in six months after receiving a stem cell transplant made from a baby’s umbilical cord blood, donated in 2008.
Gunner Lewis-Vale, from Shropshire, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease in March 2021, when he was around 17 months old.
At the time, his parents, Holly and Jamie Lewis-Vale, both 34, were told that without a transplant their child would only live a year or two.
But after a previous transplant from a donor in Germany failed, Gunner found a match with stem cells that were donated to NHS Blood and Transplant in 2008 and frozen with liquid nitrogen vapor at -150C.
He underwent surgery in January and then had to self-isolate for six months to give his immune system time to produce enough white blood cells to fight infection.
But now Gunner’s life has changed as he enjoys the summer with his seven-year-old sister Daisy.
Mrs Lewis-Vale said: “So far we have ventured to the park, the skate park, walking the dogs, school runs for her big sister and going out to feed the ducks.
“Gunner’s sassy personality is coming back. He is a smart boy with an incredible bond with his older sister.”
Gunner has mucopolysaccharidosis type I pitcher syndrome, a rare inherited disease that prevents the breakdown of certain sugars in the body.
The accumulation of sugars can cause problems with physical and mental development.
Frozen umbilical cord stem cells are removed from storage in preparation for Gunner’s transplant. Photo: PA
The first symptom Gunner presented was a pushed in belly button, due to the accumulation of sugar in the liver and spleen.
“We are forever grateful to the incredible mother who donated her baby’s umbilical cord,” added Ms. Lewis-Vale.
“We hope that the donor’s new white blood cells will produce the enzyme he was missing, which breaks down sugar.”
Gunner’s family is now encouraging more people to register as stem cell donors.
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Guy Parkes, head of stem cell donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We are delighted to see Gunner playing outside for the first time since receiving his stem cell transplant from a cord blood unit. umbilical cord donated to our NHS umbilical cord blood. Bank.
“Stem cell transplants are only possible thanks to the generosity of donors and we are grateful to the mother who chose to donate her baby’s umbilical cord more than 10 years ago. We wish Gunner and her family all the best.”
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