Could Sibling Cord Blood Help a Child With Cerebral Palsy?

What Is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy is the name for a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement and coordination. It is caused by a problem with the brain that develops before, during, or soon after birth [2]. Around 1 in 400 babies born in the UK is affected [1].

NHS care focuses on physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and medicines that ease symptoms such as muscle stiffness, helping children to be as independent as possible [2]. Researchers are now asking whether cells from umbilical cord blood could help the brain itself [6, 7].

Who is Gabriel Machado?

Gabriel is a teenager from Lexington, Massachusetts, who has cerebral palsy, is legally blind, and is non-verbal. His family describes him as happy and always smiling [3].

When his younger sister, Maria, was born in Brazil, her umbilical cord blood was collected and stored, and it has remained in storage for 16 years. Gabriel has now been accepted onto an expanded access programme at Duke University Medical Center for an infusion of those cells [3]. Maria hopes to hear her brother say her name again, as he last did 11 years ago before a seizure and a coma [3].

What Is Duke’s Expanded Access Programme?

An expanded access programme is a regulator-authorised route for giving an investigational treatment to eligible patients outside a formal clinical trial. Duke’s programme, registered in 2017 as NCT03327467, offers children with cerebral palsy and related brain injuries a single intravenous infusion of cord blood [4].

• Their own cord blood, if it was stored at their birth [4, 5].
• Or a full sibling’s cord blood, provided the sample contains enough cells and is a close, but not necessarily perfect, tissue match [4, 5].

The programme was set up by Professor Joanne Kurtzberg’s team at Duke and draws on the team’s experience of treating more than 700 patients with their own or a sibling’s cord blood [5].

What Does The Evidence Show?

Gabriel’s treatment builds on more than a decade of research, much of it from Duke.

• A randomised trial of a child’s own cord blood. In a 2017 double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 63 children aged one to six with cerebral palsy received their own cord blood or a placebo, then the alternative a year later. Children given at least 25 million cells per kilogram of body weight showed greater gains in motor function a year later than those given a lower dose or placebo, and brain scans showed matching improvements in connectivity [7].
• A safety study of siblings’ cord blood. In a 2021 Phase 1 study, 15 children aged one to six with moderate to severe spastic cerebral palsy each received one infusion of fully or partially matched cord blood from a brother or sister. Over two years of follow-up, no side effects were linked to the infusions [8].
• The combined evidence. A 2025 individual-participant analysis in the journal Pediatrics pooled 498 participant records from 11 studies worldwide. Children treated with cord blood scored higher than controls on the Gross Motor Function Measure, a standard test of skills such as sitting, crawling, and walking, by 1.36 points at six months and 1.42 points at 12 months. Higher cell doses produced larger gains, and serious side effects were similar between treated and control groups [6].

The benefits in that analysis were clearest in younger children and in those with milder motor impairment, which is why researchers see early treatment as a priority [6].

Why Can A Sibling’s Cord Blood Be Used?

Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the developing brain rather than by a fault in a child’s blood cells [2]. That means a child’s own cord blood can be used, and Duke’s work shows that a brother’s or sister’s cord blood can be too, even when it is only a partial match [4, 8].

This approach has a personal connection for Cells4Life. When Jay Shetty’s mother, Shilpa, was expecting his younger brother, Kairav, the family stored Kairav’s cord blood with Cells4Life so that Jay, who has cerebral palsy, could have access to cord blood therapy. In 2017 Jay took part in a clinical trial at Duke using sibling cord blood [9].

What Does This Mean For Families Storing Cord Blood?

Gabriel’s story shows how long a stored sample keeps its value: Maria’s cord blood has been frozen for 16 years and is now set to be used for her brother [3]. Storing a baby’s cord blood preserves a sample for that child and a potential match for their brothers and sisters, and cord blood can only be collected at birth.

To learn more about umbilical cord stem cells and how you can preserve them, fill in the form below to request your free welcome pack.

References

1. Scope. Cerebral palsy (CP): an introduction. https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/cerebral-palsy-introduction
2. NHS. Cerebral palsy. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cerebral-palsy/
3. McCarthy, C. (2026, 22 September). Family of Lexington teen with cerebral palsy raises money for investigational treatment. Boston 25 News. https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/family-lexington-teen-with-cerebral-palsy-raises-money-investigational-treatment/CEXL6KEURNBO7OTJ7OWLJVZZWE/
4. ClinicalTrials.gov. Study record NCT03327467: Expanded access protocol – umbilical cord blood infusions for children with brain injuries. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03327467
5. McLaughlin, C. A., West, T., Hollowell, R., et al., & Kurtzberg, J. (2019). Expanded access protocol of umbilical cord blood infusion for children with neurological conditions. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 8(S1), S4–S5. https://doi.org/10.1002/sctm.12583
6. Finch-Edmondson, M., Paton, M. C. B., et al. (2025). Cord blood treatment for children with cerebral palsy: individual participant data meta-analysis. Pediatrics, 155(5), e2024068999. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2024-068999
7. Sun, J. M., Song, A. W., Case, L. E., Mikati, M. A., et al., & Kurtzberg, J. (2017). Effect of autologous cord blood infusion on motor function and brain connectivity in young children with cerebral palsy: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 6(12), 2071–2078. https://doi.org/10.1002/sctm.17-0102
8. Sun, J. M., Case, L. E., Mikati, M. A., Jasien, J. M., McLaughlin, C., Waters-Pick, B., Worley, G., Troy, J., & Kurtzberg, J. (2021). Sibling umbilical cord blood infusion is safe in young children with cerebral palsy. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 10(9), 1258–1265. https://doi.org/10.1002/sctm.20-0470
9. Cells4Life. Jay’s journey for cerebral palsy. https://cells4life.us/jays-journey/