Umbilical cord stem cell hope for cystic fibrosis

This gives me great hope since a good portion of my work involves looking for genetic mutations that cause cystic fibrosis (CF).  Out of Australia the first umbilical cord donation to help cure cystic fibrosis:

BABY Aiden Brundell is more than just a brother: he may also be the miracle cure that could one day save his sister Mikaela's life.Mikaela Brundell, 6, was born with cystic fibrosis, an incurable and fatal genetic disorder.

Mikaela is constantly in and out of hospital as she fights chest infections and digestive problems.

But scientists hope revolutionary stem-cell therapy could one day help patients such as Mikaela beat the disorder.

Mikaela's mum, Julie, donated the umbilical-cord blood from baby Aiden, born on April 15, so stem cells could be extracted from it.

Cystic Fibrosis Victoria spokesman Prof Bob Williamson said it was the world's first stem-cell therapy program to treat cystic fibrosis.

In case you are not familiar with cystic fibrosis, here is some information from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website:

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. A defective gene causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. These thick secretions also obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food. The mucus also can block the bile duct in the liver, eventually causing permanent liver damage in approximately six percent of people with CF.

So why is this umbilical cord stem cell donation such big news and why should you care?  Because many Americans carry a mutation that causes CF and don't even know it:

More than 10 million Americans are unknowing, symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene. An individual must inherit two defective CF genes—one from each parent—to have CF. Each time two carriers conceive, there is a 25 percent chance that their child will have CF; a 50 percent chance that the child will be a carrier of the CF gene; and a 25 percent chance that the child will be a non-carrier.

Let us pray that little Mikaela gets the cure she needs from her brother's umbilical cord!