Living her joyful life through cord blood transplantation
When Zach and Nina Miller’s daughter, Josephine, experienced chronic motor disability that comes with cerebral palsy, the family researched promising therapeutic strategies that would help mitigate her disabilities. They hit many roadblocks until they sent an inquiry to Marcie Finney, Executive Director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center regarding the possibility of a cord blood transplant to improve Josephine’s abilities.
“I spoke with Marcie and felt I was finally communicating with a person who truly cared and wanted to help,” said Zach Miller. “Many organizations were unwilling to entertain the idea of mesenchymal stem cell infusion derived from umbilical cord blood, even though it had emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy.”
The Cleveland Cord Blood Center helped the Millers enroll in a cord blood trial in South Korea in 2014. “Not only did Marcie listen to us, CCBC put a lot of time, resources and compassion into helping us achieve our goal,” Miller said.
Today, Josephine is a strong nine-years-old. While she still has challenges, the cord blood transplant has helped her make great strides towards living a happy and fulfilling life. Go-cart driving? Amusement park rides? Boating? Josephine and her family are all in.