Midwestern Generosity Pushes Medical Frontiers

“It was scary. They checked the whole world for a bone marrow transplant but found no option,” said Sara Hagemeyer, whose daughter Alexis was hospitalized in 1996 with a genetic immune deficiency that left her defenseless against infections.

Four-month-old Alexis already had undergone surgery at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center to remove a lobe of her infected left lung. As for treating her immune deficiency, her doctors had been unable to find a suitable donor anywhere for a transplant of bone marrow. That was then the leading source of stem cells needed to repopulate a defective blood-making system and restore the body’s immunity to disease.

“Her doctors told us there was a new source of stem cells that came from discarded umbilical cords,” Sara said. Her parents were asked to decide if Alexis would become the first cord blood transplant recipient at Glennon.

Thanks to the support of generous donors, the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation was able to provide critical seed funding that enabled the first cord blood unit to be placed in storage at the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank in January of 1996. The bank was the country’s second repository for umbilical cord blood collected after a child’s birth. The blood cells, which normally are discarded, appeared to show promise in the treatment of some cancers and immune-system disorders.

The St. Louis Cord Blood Bank and Alexis both became 16 years old this year. Alexis is finishing her sophomore year at Westminster Christian Academy and plays golf on its junior varsity team.

While the use of embryonic stem cells – derived from fertilized human eggs – is controversial, cord blood stem cells have been accepted as a non-controversial treatment option for many diseases.

The bank is one of the most active cord blood banks in the world and has provided stem cell units for more than 1,800 transplants. In 2010, units were exported for 126 transplants in the United States and 62 transplants in 19 other countries.

The bank received its 100,000th donated cord on January 18 from Jacqueline Weidinger, who gave birth to daughter Delilah at SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, Missouri.

Data on cell units in the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank are listed on computer databases that are searched daily by transplant centers around the world. While the bank is now one of two dozen in the country, it holds about one in six banked stem cell units. The St. Louis bank holds about 24,000 units in liquid nitrogen freezers at 320 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.

“I had no idea this would turn out as it has,” said Donna Regan, MT (ASCP) SBB, executive director of the bank.

Alexis Hagemeyer had a severe Pseudomonas infection. After her doctors found a cord blood match for her in a New York bank, “They told us she had a 2- to 7-percent chance of survival,” Sara said.

Within days, the transplanted cells were producing new blood cells and an immune system. Alexis took medications to boost her immune system for a year. She continued to visit Glennon for checkups until she was 10.

The first bone marrow transplant using a non-related donor was performed in 1959. The process required close matching of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types, an immune system function that determines the body’s acceptance of transplanted cells. Suitable matches often could not be found, even among close family members. Researchers looking for other sources of blood-producing stem cells considered the blood in umbilical cords that were being discarded.

After birth, hematopoietic stem cells are found almost exclusively in bone marrow. During fetal development, the cells circulate in the blood and some can be harvested from the umbilical cord after a baby’s delivery.

Further research determined that umbilical cord blood offers more flexibility in matching. A bone marrow donor and the recipient must be identical matches on all six HLA genes, each having hundreds of possible types. Cord blood stem cell transplants may be performed with donor units matching the patient on as few as four of six HLA antigens. Cord blood stem cells also tend to create less rejection response and are less likely to carry infectious agents.

After a baby is delivered and separated from its umbilical cord, a large needle is inserted in one of the cord’s vessels and the blood is drained into a collection bag. The blood is tested for infections and measured for cell count.

Salem Akel, Ph.D., scientific and laboratory director of the bank, is doing basic scientific research to determine if cord blood cells could form tissues other than blood, such as muscle, heart, liver, pancreas or nerves.

“Cord blood is being used to cure more than 70 diseases where cord blood-derived cells replace the abnormal diseased cells,” Akel said. “If these very young cells can engraft and become part of the body, they might bring a healthier organ.”

HLA markers tend to follow ethnic heritage. Many units exported by the St. Louis bank head to Europe, which shares the Caucasian heritage of the Midwestern United States. About 40 percent of cord blood units used in U.S. transplants comes from foreign countries. Even with hundreds of thousands of units in storage, good matches cannot be found for all patients. Last year the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank received a 3-year, id=mce_marker.4-million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assist in the collection of genetically-diverse cord blood units.

The metropolitan medical community and its new moms readily embraced the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank. “We gave a talk to see what the response would be,” said Kathy Mueckl, R.N., nurse coordinator of the bank. “Overnight we had an enthusiastic group of physicians who wanted us to bring this program to their hospital because they knew their moms would be eager to donate.”

Cords are collected at 29 Missouri and Illinois hospitals in the St. Louis region. In 2008 the bank began collecting cord blood at four hospitals affiliated with Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City. All hospitals, along with obstetricians and nurses, donate their services.
The First Gift Women’s Golf Event was started in 1996 to support the bank by raising money for equipment purchases and other needs. Other community projects also support the bank.

One of the player’s in last year’s First Gift Women’s Golf Event was Alexis Hagemeyer.
“For the disease Alexis had, cord blood is now the number-one treatment,” her mother said. “It is amazing what they are doing now.”

For information about donations that will support the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank or to register for the First Gift Women’s Golf Event, please contact the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation at 314-577-5605, 800-269-0552 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . To discuss cord donation, call the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank at 314-268-2787 or 888-453-2673. For more information, visit the bank’s website at http://www.slcbb.org/.