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Article: The Littlest Donor; Umbilical Cord Blood Is a New Source of Marrow
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 2, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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When 2-year-old Callie Longo of Rockville had a bone marrow
transplant last September, her donor never felt a needlestick or
lost a drop of blood.
The healthy blood cells Callie received to replace her own
diseased marrow came from the umbilical cord and placenta of her
infant sister, Jennie. The cells had been stored for more than three
months in a deep freeze in the blood bank at Children's National
Medical Center.
"She's been thriving," said Patricia Dinndorf, a bone marrow
transplant specialist at Children's. "She's had very nice recovery
of her immune function."
Callie was diagnosed 17 days after her first birthday with a
rare and deadly form of leukemia, a disease of the ...