{"id":4206,"date":"2025-11-26T15:11:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/?p=4206"},"modified":"2025-11-26T15:13:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:13:23","slug":"how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A student from Liverpool has credited the transplant of blood taken from a Spanish baby\u2019s placenta and umbilical cord with saving her life after treatment at Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Lyra Cassell, 20, was 16 years-old when a friend noticed a lump on her body. She called her GP and was told it was a suspected hernia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot long after I was told the lump was a hernia, I was out walking when I felt another lump, this time on my neck.\u201d Explained Lyra.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went back to my GP who took my bloods and advised that I might be eating too much sugar and was close to being diabetic. It felt unlikely as I had always maintained a good diet and was very active, I have always been into my running.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was then chatting to a friend a few days later who pointed out a second lump on my neck. I had an appointment at Liverpool Royal Hospital and it felt like the first time someone took proper notice of it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hospital\u2019s consultant said it was definitely not a hernia and took a biopsy same day. I was told it was looking like cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lyra was diagnosed with precursor T-cell lymphoblastic leukaemia, one of the rarest forms of blood cancer, and started chemotherapy at Alder Hey Children\u2019s Hospital, five days a week for six weeks.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4208\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4208\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4208\" src=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-during-transplant-procedure-1-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Girl in hospital bed surrounded by toys\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-during-transplant-procedure-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-during-transplant-procedure-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-during-transplant-procedure-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-during-transplant-procedure-1-60x80.jpeg 60w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-during-transplant-procedure-1-680x907.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-during-transplant-procedure-1.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4208\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lyra during transplant procedure<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAfter my chemo, I got my Measurable Residual Disease (MRD) results which showed that the chemo hadn\u2019t killed any of the cancer. It had just stopped it from progressing and I was told we\u2019d need to start looking at a transplant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before a transplant could happen, the levels of cancer in Lyra\u2019s body would need to be lowered, so a new round of chemo was started. A couple of months later, her MRD levels had come down so much that a stem transplant was deemed possible.<\/p>\n<p>Lyra was transferred to Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital, one of the limited number of hospitals who can carry out the procedure, where it was recommended by Professor Robert Wynn that a cord blood transplant would be best.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Rob Wynn, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital, explained the why a cord blood transplant was required:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost children with leukaemia are cured with drugs, known as chemotherapy, but with some children the drugs don\u2019t kill all the leukaemia cells. Many of these children are cured with blood stem cell transplant. During transplant, the immune cells of the donor reject the leukaemia cells of the patient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have promoted the use of cord blood as a donor cell source during my work at Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital over the last 30 years. We have noticed that the immune cells of a cord blood are particularly good at curing leukaemia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis means many of our children are alive after a cord blood transplant where another type of transplant might have failed. We continue to research why cord blood is better in this way, and how we might use it in different situations for children suffering from difficult-to-cure cancers.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4210\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4210\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4210 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyras-cord-blood-transplant-i-still-find-it-crazy-how-this-small-vial-saved-my-life-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Vial of blood being held by gloved hands\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyras-cord-blood-transplant-i-still-find-it-crazy-how-this-small-vial-saved-my-life-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyras-cord-blood-transplant-i-still-find-it-crazy-how-this-small-vial-saved-my-life-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyras-cord-blood-transplant-i-still-find-it-crazy-how-this-small-vial-saved-my-life-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyras-cord-blood-transplant-i-still-find-it-crazy-how-this-small-vial-saved-my-life-60x80.jpeg 60w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyras-cord-blood-transplant-i-still-find-it-crazy-how-this-small-vial-saved-my-life-680x907.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyras-cord-blood-transplant-i-still-find-it-crazy-how-this-small-vial-saved-my-life.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4210\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lyra&#8217;s cord blood transplant &#8211; &#8216;I still find it crazy how this small vial saved my life&#8217;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lyra had total body irradiation twice a day for three days, which she described as \u2018intense\u2019:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had my transplant on 7th April 2022. The transplant itself was a tiny vial of blood, that was it! I still find it crazy how that small vial saved my life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe blood had been taken from a placenta and umbilical cord in Spain 12 years ago and frozen, it\u2019s strange to think if that if a mother in a Spanish hospital didn\u2019t decide to donate that blood in 2010, I wouldn\u2019t have had a future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs it is, I am now studying Occupational Therapy at University and have done a half marathon since my transplant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first four weeks following my transplant were tough, I was on a lot of heavy medicine and felt out of it. I couldn\u2019t stomach food so had a feeding tube, the chemo and irradiation had damaged my nerves which, combined with being sedentary for so long, meant I could barely walk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt felt like everybody was getting on and I was staying still. Even when I was discharged I had to semi-isolate for six months, I saw some friends now and again but couldn\u2019t risk any more than that due to the chances of infection. Recovery was a lonely place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did manage to go back to school for year 13, but it was a struggle and I didn\u2019t realise how tired and chronically fatigued I would be. But my friends were great, especially my best friend, Liv. She would leave class early with me and help me with the stairs and pretty much was my support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was weird seeing everyone again and so much had changed but everyone was so lovely and supportive of me coming back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found socialising great at the start because I had been so limited to it, but I also found I really didn\u2019t have anything to talk about and being involved in conversation, even just listening, made me feel socially drained quite easily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough so much had happened to me, nothing \u2018teen interesting\u2019 had and I didn\u2019t want cancer to be the constant topic of conversation. I found that my friends didn\u2019t want to ask too much either which was a really nice change to be seen and talked to as me again and not as a cancer patient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found it hard sometimes to listen to what everyone had been up to and experiencing while I had been fighting for my life. I wouldn\u2019t call it jealousy, but I did envy that sense of normality everyone else had that I never got to experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also really didn\u2019t want to be labelled as the \u2018cancer kid\u2019 but it was hard to not be that when I looked so thin, my walking was visibly \u2018not normal\u2019 due to chemo causing nerve damage, wearing a wig and I often left school early due to fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mum says she is very proud of how I powered through school and A-levels, I can look back now and feel proud of it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4209\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4209\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4209 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Two women in black dresses posing in a kitchen\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled-60x80.jpg 60w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled-680x907.jpg 680w, https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-with-her-friend-Liv-now-who-she-credits-as-being-amazing-through-it-all-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4209\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lyra with her friend Liv now, who she credits as being amazing through it all<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cMy experience has informed my future as having gone through the physio and occupational therapy at Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital, I\u2019ve been inspired to pursue it as a career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI liked that occupational therapists are the next step to home, the patients are on the path to recovery and the therapist is the one to help them cross the finish line to some sort of normality. I liked that the therapists look at the patient as a person, seeing past their medical diagnoses and really seeing them for them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think from my experience of being labelled as a cancer patient, I liked the idea of giving someone their identity back even if it was only a small part of getting them back to something that made them, them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m also keen to continue to raise awareness of organ, blood and stem cell donation. My diagnosis sparked many friends and family to sign up and donors, one of my best friends\u2019 uncles added himself to the donation list and within months was called up to donate his stem cells.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt gives me peace of mind to know that my diagnosis has also helped other people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cord blood can be donated to the UK\u2019s public cord bank at several maternity units in England. For more information on how to donate, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhsbt.nhs.uk\">www.nhsbt.nhs.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To register as a blood donor, visit: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blood.co.uk\">www.blood.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A student from Liverpool has credited the transplant of blood taken from a Spanish baby\u2019s placenta and umbilical cord with saving her life after treatment at Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital. Lyra Cassell, 20, was 16 years-old when a friend noticed a lump on her body. She called her GP and was told it was a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":4207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-patient-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A student from Liverpool has credited the transplant of blood taken from a Spanish baby\u2019s placenta and umbilical cord with saving her life after treatment at Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital. Lyra Cassell, 20, was 16 years-old when a friend noticed a lump on her body. She called her GP and was told it was a [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-26T15:11:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-26T15:13:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"946\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"602\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"aileenloftus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"aileenloftus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"aileenloftus\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/be57b3d36c218e92b0c45ed79fcc35f1\"},\"headline\":\"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-26T15:11:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-26T15:13:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/\"},\"wordCount\":1351,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Patient Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/\",\"name\":\"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-26T15:11:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-26T15:13:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/be57b3d36c218e92b0c45ed79fcc35f1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg\",\"width\":946,\"height\":602,\"caption\":\"Girl in hospital bed with toys\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/\",\"name\":\"Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital\",\"description\":\"Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Sites - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/be57b3d36c218e92b0c45ed79fcc35f1\",\"name\":\"aileenloftus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc3ace1e122c8a69f1efece14c24786e6abe4f261437a3c4a192ef6251580cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc3ace1e122c8a69f1efece14c24786e6abe4f261437a3c4a192ef6251580cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"aileenloftus\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/author\/aileenloftus\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital","og_description":"A student from Liverpool has credited the transplant of blood taken from a Spanish baby\u2019s placenta and umbilical cord with saving her life after treatment at Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital. Lyra Cassell, 20, was 16 years-old when a friend noticed a lump on her body. She called her GP and was told it was a [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/","og_site_name":"Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital","article_published_time":"2025-11-26T15:11:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-26T15:13:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":946,"height":602,"url":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"aileenloftus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"aileenloftus","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/"},"author":{"name":"aileenloftus","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/be57b3d36c218e92b0c45ed79fcc35f1"},"headline":"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life","datePublished":"2025-11-26T15:11:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-26T15:13:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/"},"wordCount":1351,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg","articleSection":["News","Patient Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/","url":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/","name":"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-11-26T15:11:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-26T15:13:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/be57b3d36c218e92b0c45ed79fcc35f1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/11\/Lyra-first-day-before-chemo-e1764169967894.jpeg","width":946,"height":602,"caption":"Girl in hospital bed with toys"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/how-the-blood-donated-from-a-spanish-babys-birth-12-years-ago-saved-a-teenagers-life\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How the blood donated from a Spanish baby\u2019s birth 12 years ago saved a teenager\u2019s life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/","name":"Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital","description":"Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Sites - Royal Manchester Children&#039;s Hospital","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/be57b3d36c218e92b0c45ed79fcc35f1","name":"aileenloftus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc3ace1e122c8a69f1efece14c24786e6abe4f261437a3c4a192ef6251580cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc3ace1e122c8a69f1efece14c24786e6abe4f261437a3c4a192ef6251580cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"aileenloftus"},"url":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/author\/aileenloftus\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4206"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4218,"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4206\/revisions\/4218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/rmch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}