Cord Transplant…a distant possibility?

My sister-in-law (my husband’s brother’s wife) is due to have my new niece any day now. We were communicating a couple of months ago about using my niece’s cord blood as a possible transplant for Hannah. Unfortunately, the cord blood company needed 45 days notice before her due date to get it set up, and I just couldn’t get an answer whether or not it could be a possible help. She is due to give birth any second now, literally, and is scheduled to be induced on Thursday.

I just found out that she has been communicating with Dr. W., the specialist back east who I have nicknamed “Hannah’s guardian angel” because he has gone above and beyond in trying to educate me and to help Hannah and hooked us up with Dr. S., the specialist we are seeing next month in Dallas. She never mentioned Hannah by name initially, but said she was asking about her 5-month-old niece. He put two and two together.

Once he realized they were both talking about Hannah, here was his response:

Carrie and I have been doing a lot of corresponding about Hannah. I am happy and honored to be able to play a role even if just by email. I (and everyone else) are hoping that Hannah will not have neuronopathic GD. Were that to be the case, I doubt that a cord blood infusion/transplantation would do much to alter the course. If Hannah has type 1 Gaucher, she should respond well to standard enzyme therapy. However, I really have no expertise in the use of cord blood in general, or as relates to Gaucher disease. When Carrie and Hannah see Dr. S., perhaps he can also address that question. I will however continue to research the matter as it is certainly an important consideration.

Thank you to my fantastic sister-in-law for continuing to fight for Hannah, even through her constant contractions!
Thank you to Dr. W. for continuing to be such a source of security and knowledge for Hannah. To say you would be “honored” to be involved is more than I could ever hope for!