USA: un enfant sauvé grâce aux cellules souches adultes du cordon ombilical d’un bébé donneur, conçu naturellement.

A West Michigan girl who turned one this past week delivered a gift far more valuable than any present she received at her first birthday party.

She saved the life of a little boy in Dallas . Blood taken from her umbilical cord, seconds after her birth last February, was transplanted into a youngster named Henry, who suffered from a severely malfunctioning immune system, known as "Bubble Boy" syndrome.

The stem cells in her cord blood proved to be a near-perfect match for the Texas youth. And as pictures accompanying this column demonstrate, Henry made a miraculous recovery. He now is a healthy 10-month-old.

Donors rarely learn whether their cord blood was ever used. The chances of a match are rare: Of 1,615 specimens collected by Grand Rapids-based Michigan Community Blood Centers since the program's inception in June 1999, only eight have been transplanted. Six of those eight recipients survive today. Grand Rapids Press