--- title: How the First Cord Blood Transplant Saved 6-Year-Old Matthew Farrow date: 2015-04-28T03:00:00-04:00 author: Courtney Flickinger canonical_url: "https://www.americordblood.com/articles/how-the-first-cord-blood-transplant-saved-a-6-year-old-from-a-deadly-disease" section: Articles --- ![A child holding a heart-shaped piece of paper.](https://assets.americordblood.com/transforms/blogs/72722/6-year-old-first-blood-americord_dcd4b851eab0fdc82c7554dc6e8ca81c.png) [ Treatments & Clinical Trials ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/treatments-clinical-trials) 1 Min Read # How the First Cord Blood Transplant Saved 6-Year-Old Matthew Farrow We tend to think of cord blood stem cell therapy as new, but in fact it’s been used successfully since 1988. That was the year that an international collaboration saved the life of a 6-year-old boy through the world’s first successful [umbilical cord blood transplant](https://www.americordblood.com/cord-blood). ## What was the first successful umbilical cord blood transplant? In 1988, Matthew Farrow of North Carolina had been diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, a rare, inherited blood disorder. Fanconi anemia frequently results in potentially fatal cancers, such as leukemia and head and neck cancers. Before his baby sister was born, Matthew’s parents had her [amniotic fluid cells](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/amniotic-fluid-cell) analyzed. They found that she was unaffected by Fanconi anemia and was HLA-identical to her brother. (HLA typing is done before transplantation to determine the degree of compatibility between donor and recipient.) At birth, her umbilical cord blood was cryopreserved. This made an invasive bone marrow transplant from the newborn girl unnecessary. The transplant proved a complete success, curing Matthew of a condition generally considered incurable. At the time, cord blood had never before been used in humans, and a cord blood transplant was considered an unknown, possibly high-risk procedure. However, the French National Ethics Committee gave permission for the cord blood transplant because Matthew’s life was at risk, and his sister would not have to be put under general anesthesia. ## Who was responsible for the first ever umbilical cord blood transplant? An international collaboration made the cord blood transplant possible. Dr. Arleen Auerbach of Rockefeller University, New York, described a method of diagnosing prenatal Fanconi anemia. Dr. Hal Broxmeyer of the Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, banked the cord blood. The frozen cord blood was flown from a lab in Indianapolis to Paris, where Dr. Eliane Gluckman of the Hôpital Saint-Louis performed the actual transplant operation on October 6, 1988. The transplant proved a complete success, curing Matthew of a condition generally considered incurable. Today, 30 years later, Matthew Farrow is alive and well, a husband and a father—and the lucky recipient of the world’s first cord blood transplant. ![Call to action guiding readers to download the Americord info guide to prepare for their family's future.](https://assets.americordblood.com/transforms/blogs/110628/prepare-for-future-info-guide-americord_be7aaffd48750bec4e355d7110544d3f.png) *The views, statements, and pricing expressed are deemed reliable as of the published date. Articles may not reflect current pricing, offerings, or recent innovations.* ### Cord Blood Banking Preserve your baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells with CryoMaxx™ Processing and use in 80+ FDA-approved treatments and 100’s of clinical trials including autism, diabetes, childhood leukemia, sickle cell disease, and more. [ View Service ](https://www.americordblood.com/cord-blood) ### Be the First to Know Never miss the latest cord blood breakthrough, clinical trial, or stem cell education to keep your family healthy for life. 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What's available now and where will we go? [ Read More ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/stem-cell-treatments-what-is-available-now-and-what-does-the-future-hold) [ ![A graphic of a brain inside human head silhouette.](https://assets.americordblood.com/transforms/blogs/62102/motor-function-cerebral-palsy-americord_41a4f2ed037c5ad51696884668d44cc6.png) ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/can-cord-blood-stem-cell-therapy-improve-cerebral-palsy-motor-function) [### Can Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy Improve Cerebral Palsy Motor Function? ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/can-cord-blood-stem-cell-therapy-improve-cerebral-palsy-motor-function)Cerebral Palsy is a disorder that affects many people worldwide. As research advances, many question the role of cord blood stem cell treatments. [ Read More ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/can-cord-blood-stem-cell-therapy-improve-cerebral-palsy-motor-function) [ ![A graphic depicting the word success.](https://assets.americordblood.com/transforms/blogs/8144/success-cord-blood-treatment-child-americord_41a4f2ed037c5ad51696884668d44cc6.png) ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/how-cord-blood-turned-this-4-year-olds-life-around) [### Cord Blood Banking Success Story: How Cord Blood Turned This 4-Year-Old’s Life Around ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/how-cord-blood-turned-this-4-year-olds-life-around)Read how this family utilized cord blood banking and treatments to help reduce the impact of apraxia in their family. This story is from Yahoo News in 2015. [ Read More ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/how-cord-blood-turned-this-4-year-olds-life-around)