Nathan Mumford
When Nathan Mumford learned he had leukemia in August 2004, he was given nearly no hope of survival. When no match was found among family members for a bone marrow transplant, Dr. Mary Laughlin offered him newfound hope with the suggestion that he consider a cord blood stem cell transplant. In November 2004, he received a cord blood stem cell transplant from the cord blood of an African-American baby girl. That transplant saved his life.
Perhaps more than most, Mumford knows the tragedy that cancer can inflict a patient’s life and family. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in the third grade, and lost years of childhood in treatment. During his junior year of college in 2001, his mother, Karen, was diagnosed with breast cancer, and lost her battle in 2005, only months after he received his lifesaving transplant. He now heads up the Karen E. Mumford Cancer Foundation, named in her honor, which is dedicated to helping serve the needs of cancer patients.
“Since the transplant, I have a lot more energy,” he noted. “I sometimes have spurts of energy for a couple of days at a time when I can play sports like a teenager. My eighth grade cousin even has a hard time keeping up with me. I still feel younger than my age. I also enjoy sledding and throwing snowballs with my friend’s children. It’s fun because I missed some of my childhood and I get the chance to make up for it now.”
“I try to have as much fun as possible and truly appreciate the little things in life a lot more,” he said.
Mumford advocates greater awareness among a more diverse cross-section of people in terms of the tremendous value and non-controversial benefits of cord blood donation. “African Americans and other minority communities are underserved when it comes to cord blood donations. More lives can be saved in the African American, Hispanic and Asian communities as more parents donate to public banks such as the Cleveland Cord Blood Bank. By increasing the number of cord blood stem cells available in public banks, more African Americans and other minorities will be able to take advantage of these life-giving treatment options.”