Model Cell Biobank Stories

The death of a work colleague from Leukaemia and another friend’s diagnosis with the disease was the spark mother Natalie Harrop needed to prompt her to bank the stem cells from her new baby’s umbilical cord. Natalie and partner Gary Hardwick-Bishop from Newport,...

Luna Sage, a new parent from North London, discovered the importance of storing umbilical cord blood stem cells when their mother was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and needed to find a suitable match for a life-saving transplant. Luna said: “When my mother fell...

Three new mothers have described the importance of storing their babies’ umbilical cord blood stem cells for potential use to treat life-threatening diseases in the future. Our charity established the Model Cell Biobank to store stem cells and on World Cord Blood Day...

A mother-of-three has said storing her new baby’s cord blood is “extra protection” against the risk of disease as the child grows – and one she hopes she will never have to use. Rozgar, from South East London, gave birth to son Heizan in May 2024, and had arranged to...

A new partnership is paving the way for potentially life-saving stem cell storage options for expectant parents. Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK (LMRUK) and Smart Cells International, the UK’s first private stem cell storage company, have joined forces to procure,...

The moment baby Alice Newborough was born, parents Sam and Craig had a phlebotomist on hand to harvest potentially lifesaving stem cells from her umbilical cord, which were frozen and banked as a charity-funded health insurance for the little girl and her older...

Four-time Winter Olympian and Team GB Olympic snowboard cross athlete (SBX), Zoe Gillings-Brier, has partnered with Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK (LMRUK) as an official charity ambassador.  Zoe is not only one of Team GB’s most successful SBX athletes of all...

Blood cancer research charity, Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK (LMRUK), has launched a bespoke part-funded service to support families who wish to store their child’s cord blood stem cells for health reasons.  To coincide with World Cord Blood Day (15th November),...

Johnathon was 16 years old when he was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2011. Umbilical cord blood stem cells saved his life. Johnathon's mother, Jacqui Albans tells us more: Johnathon hadn't been very well - he was very tired and losing weight, and it got to the stage...

This is Clavy’s story, one of the first clients of Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK’s Model Cell Biobank.  Clavy’s story  “I have three children; my son who is now five years old, and two daughters aged three and four months old.  My son spent the first two years...