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Leicestershire mums Mandy Kelly and Amy Winston-Hart back stem cell call

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The mothers of two girls given stem cell transplants taken from umbilical cords are backing a campaign to increase awareness of the treatment.

Mums Mandy Kelly and Amy Winston-Hart are supporting an e-petition set up on the Department of Health website.

Their daughters, Eve Kelly and Eva Winston-Hart, are enjoying their half-term holidays like any other nine-year-olds. But the fact they are here at all is down umbilical stem cell transplants.

Eve, of Scraptoft, Leicester, was given her life-saving transplant in December 2010 at Birmingham Children's Hospital, months after being diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia.

"We want all expecting mothers to be consulted on donating their baby's umbilical cord at birth and for more midwives to be trained to collect cords so the stem cells – the body's building blocks – can be harvested," said Mandy.

"It's a pretty straightforward procedure but it saved Eve's life.

"The problem is, too many mothers don't even know about it and only a few hospitals in the country offer the facility."

Stem cells from the cords are injected into a leukaemia patient's blood and can rebuild their damaged immune system so they can fight the cancer.

A programme to collect umbilical cords has been running in Leicester for over two years, with cords taken to the Anthony Nolan Trust's Cell Therapy Centre, in Nottingham.

Amy Winston-Hart, of Market Harborough, whose daughter Eva was given a stem cell transplant to treat her leukaemia in May 2007, said: "Luckily, the facility of saving a baby's umbilical cord is now available in Leicester, but only between 9am and 5pm.

"We need to get every hospital to offer this facility 24 hours a day to all pregnant mums."

The e-petition was set up by the family of Charlie Harris-Beard, who died on Friday, aged two. Mandy said: "We know the family, having met them at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

"They are so brave. The petition has only been going for a few days but over 17,000 people have already signed up, which is amazing."

Guy Parkes, head of special projects at the Anthony Nolan Trust, said: "We're grateful for the support of all those who have signed this petition, highlighting the life-saving potential of cord blood donation."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "A total of £8 million has been allocated towards the target of 50,000 high quality banked cords."

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ petitions/45622

Leicestershire mums Mandy Kelly and Amy Winston-Hart back stem cell call


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