Christine's Story

Harsh Diagnosis

When Christine Cho was nine years old, she began losing her hair.

“To see her lose her hair was very depressing,” said Christine’s father, Young Cho, a Korean immigrant who works for a local airplane manufacturing firm. “Emotionally, it was a very hard time.”

The hard time for the Cho family started in April 2001, when doctors diagnosed the youngster with leukemia. Chemotherapy and radiation are commonly used to treat leukemia patients. The treatment causes patients to lose their hair. A larger problem, however, is that the treatment not only destroys the cancer cells in a patient, but it also destroy stem cells, the body’s master cells which create all other tissues, organs and systems in the body. Without healthy stem cells, a patient will die.

Bone marrow transplants are used in cases like Christine’s to help repair the immune system, but finding a bone marrow donor who matches a patient is very difficult.

Answered Prayer

So Young Cho and his wife, Su, prayed very hard, every day. Almost immediately, their prayers were answered. Their physician told the family that a transplant procedure using stem cells from cord blood would increase Christine’s chances for survival.

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth. The material, which was routinely thrown out after childbirth, is rich in stem cells and is easier to match to patients.

In September 2001, the family learned that a new mother in Los Angeles had cord blood that was suitable for a transplant for Christine. She had the transplant performed in November 2001.

Today, Christine’s hair has grown back nicely and her body is currently free of cancer. Now a teenager, Christine enjoys doing all the things that young people love to do.

“God was with us,” Young Cho said. “We want to give glory to God about our story. I’m very thankful to the donor. I don’t know who it is, but we appreciate it very much.”

Christine Cho in 2008