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Australia Allows Umbilical Cord Blood Therapy for Cerebral Palsy
Zara was the first child in Australia to receive cord blood therapy for cerebral palsy outside of a clinical trial. In April 2025, Zara received an infusion of her own umbilical cord blood under the supervision of Dr. Michael Fahey, pediatric neurologist at Monash Children’s Hospital.
The regulatory pathway that made Zara’s treatment possible is officially called the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)’s Special Access Scheme (SAS) – Category B. It is a compassionate access pathway that enables physicians to submit applications on behalf of their patients. If the application is approved, which is done on a case-by-case basis, a child with cerebral palsy can receive cord blood therapy in a medical center which is local to their home. The cost of the treatment is typically covered by the national healthcare system.
Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA) of Australia, a disability service provider that also conducts research and leads advocacy efforts in the cerebral palsy field, was instrumental in achieving this milestone. CPA is now facilitating access to care by disseminating information about the cord blood research evidence and by helping families and physicians to learn more about this treatment option. For many years, scientists at CPA have published research papers analyzing the safety and efficacy of cell therapy treatments for cerebral palsy. In April 2025, they led a multi-national collaboration that authored a paper in the prestigious journal Pediatrics which demonstrated that cord blood therapy has a large benefit for the motor skills of some children with cerebral palsy1,2.
The lead author Megan Finch-Edmondson, PhD, explains simply: “Cord blood is fantastic because it is backed now by strong scientific evidence to show that it not only is safe, but it also can provide benefit for children living with cerebral palsy.” How does it work? “The cells in cord blood can release supportive factors that can actually help to repair a brain injury, and a brain injury as we know is what causes cerebral palsy.”
Images/Video courtesy of Cerebral Palsy Alliance
The Cerebral Palsy Alliance has set up a dedicated page on their website to help families and physicians to utilize this program3. According to CPA, “we have been working with families in finding the right clinician group to support compassionate access to cord blood treatment locally, and continue to publish fundamental evidence to synthesise knowledge in this space.”
At present, Australia’s compassionate access to cord blood for cerebral palsy has not been tested outside this one case. Going forward, treatments will only be available to Australian citizens, because the treatment costs are covered by the national healthcare system. An additional restriction is that families seeking cord blood therapy for cerebral palsy must have stored their own cord blood, either from the child to be treated or from a full sibling with a compatible HLA type. This last requirement comes from the regulations on how the cord blood units in Australia’s public banks may be used. Hopefully that policy can be changed, because most of the research supporting cord blood efficacy for cerebral palsy relied on treatments with donor cord blood from public banks2.
There are 34,000 people with cerebral palsy in Australia, and there is a huge interest in exploring new therapies that improve gross motor skills and quality of life3. The news of Zara's case brings hope for many families that have a young child with cerebral palsy who may respond to cord blood treatment. Cerebral Palsy Alliance says, “Together, these breakthroughs mark a shift: this is no longer just emerging science — it’s an access issue. CPA is stepping up to lead this change.”
References
- Verter F. Cord Blood Proven Effective for Cerebral Palsy. Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation Newsletter Published 2025-04
- Finch-Edmondson M, Paton M, Webb A, Ashrafi M, Blatch-Williams R, Cox CJ, ... Novak I. Cord Blood Treatment for Children With Cerebral Palsy: Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis. Pediatrics. 2025; 155(5):e2024068999.
- Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Umbilical cord blood and cerebral palsy. Advocacy. Published 2025-05-22