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 Six-month-old Granton Bayless was taken to the emergency department in Coffeyville, Kansas in March, 2008. He was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and bilateral pneumonia. The following day, he was flown to St. John's Hospital in Springfield, MO. However, his condition worsened, so five days later, he was sent to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO.
Complications
His pneumonia and RSV had become so severe that his lungs had become perforated. Granton was placed on a ventilator with tubes in his chest to suction the air leaking from his lungs. He was also medically paralyzed to prevent injury from the tubes and sensors attached to him, and also to conserve energy and oxygen.
Diagnosis
Granton was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCIDS), a rare condition that prevents the patient’s body from producing enough T cells to resist disease. Successful treatment required a stem cell transplant, but neither of the parents was a suitable match.
Critical Choice
An unrelated donor was found for both a bone-marrow or a cord blood match. However, there was concern that the bone marrow stem cells might attack the virus too aggressively, and make Granton’s lung condition worse. Cord blood stems cells, on the other hand, would slowly attack the virus. So, cord blood was chosen for transplant.
St. Louis Connection
The transplant was performed in June and Granton went home in September. He is doing well as of this writing. The cord blood unit that saved this child’s life was collected by one of the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank’s participating physicians and midwives, and was stored in our facility since 2000.
The Pay-Off
Granton Bayless is alive today because of the generous contributions of time and effort by all the doctors, midwives, and nurses who collect cord blood for the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank.
Read more about Granton's story at www.grantonbayless.blogspot.com.
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