An eastern Iowa girl is among the first patients to show significant progress in a potential treatment for a blood disorder. When 10-year-old Caitlyn Hill was checked into the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, she had sickle cell anemia.
Now, she shows no sign of the disease. The Iowa City girl has become only the third person to receive what’s called a cord blood transplant. It’s part of a national study run in part by Washington University.
Researchers are using cell and bone marrow transplants to fight non-cancerous ailments. Young Caitlyn had already had two strokes that were linked to the sickle cell disorder, so her parents consented to the experimental treatment.