Umbilical cord blood used as blood cancer treatment for children with no blood match

• Doctors say this treatment could save the lives of up to 100 children each year.
• Australian doctors are pioneering a new cancer treatment for children who cannot find a compatible donor for a bone marrow transplant.
• The procedure involves giving a double donation of umbilical cord blood.
• When nine-year-old Brad Hubbard was diagnosed with leukaemia, doctors could not find a suitable match for a bone marrow transplant, so they decided to try something never attempted before in Australia.
• They gave him donations of blood, harvested from the umbilical cords of two new-born babies.
• "It's not clear why two is better than one but it clearly is," Professor Marcus Vowels, from the Australian Cord Blood Bank, said.
• The blood contains stem cells which help rebuild bone marrow destroyed by cancer treatments.
• After a world-wide search, Brad received donated blood from a baby girl in Australia and a baby boy from Europe.
• He says he is not worried about having a girl's blood in his veins.
• "I don't really care much, as long as I'm better.
• I'll always be a boy," he said.
• The double donation meant Brad began to heal faster.
• Three months after his treatment, he has been given the all clear.
• Doctors say this treatment could save the lives of up to 100 children each year and given its success it will now be used on adults.