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A teenager's life has been saved after blood was taken from the umbilical cord of a baby 12 years ago. Lyra Cassell, 20, underwent the unique transplant at the age of 16 after being diagnosed with precursor T-cell lymphoblastic leukaemia cancer.

After rounds of chemotherapy, doctors injected a 20ml vial of blood taken from the placenta and umbilical cord of a baby, as this was the most compatible and available blood at the time - which has since cured her.

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after the birth of your baby, according to the NHS . It is rich in stem cells, which can be used to treat many different cancers, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders.

Lrya, from Allerton, Liverpool, Merseyside, said: "The transplant itself w

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