Several recent stories about successful cord blood stem cell treatments in children afflicted with cerebral palsy provides hope for other families.

But, where does a family turn when the cord blood wasn’t banked?

One Missouri family is turning to China. Beike Biotech, a company based in China, supplies adult stem cells for cerebral palsy treatment, and treatment of other diseases. The cord blood is obtained from the Chinese government after it has been collected from umbilical cords in Chinese hospitals. Kirshner Ross-Vaden, a registered nurse and vice president of the foreign patient division of Beike Biotech, said the company has about 40 patients each month who travel to China to receive the treatment.

This treatment is not available in the U.S. and many experts urge caution for these kinds of treatments, even the clinical trials conducted stateside.

"The data isn’t there at all for cord blood with cerebral palsy," said Mindy Aisen, a physician and director and chief executive officer of the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation.

"I would never advise someone to go to China, period, period, period. You’re injecting a mixture of things when injecting cord blood intravenously. It’s not clear if anything is crossing the blood-brain barrier," Aisen said, referring to a barrier of cells that lines the walls of blood vessels in the brain, which can block substances from passing.

A Washington state hospital will have to pay the family of a disabled Seattle-area girl with cerebral palsy nearly $4.25 million after a jury determined the hospital’s negligence led to the child’s condition.

In a statement, attorneys representing the family say the hospital "ignored signs of severe fetal distress and failed to timely notify a doctor." The attorneys say that resulted in the child suffering from asphyxiation for over 20 minutes before an emergency C-section was performed.

The girl, who is now five-years-old, has cerebral palsy, is brain damaged and severely disabled.

the cerebral palsy attorney for the family suggests in the statement that the child’s condition could have been prevented if nurses had notified a doctor in time to do a crash C-section.

The hospital claims that the child’s injuries had already occurred before her mother arrived at the hospital.

Cerebral Palsy, a serious and permanent condition caused by trauma at birth, has symptoms that can range from simple lack of fine muscle coordination to an inability to maintain balance or walk. Cerebral palsy often is accompanied by other medical complications, such as seizures and developmental delays. While there is no cure for this terrible disorder, many treatment options are available.

Further, children who receive the resources they need often go on to live productive lives.

Several different things can cause cerebral palsy. It may be a result from a combination of events occurring at all three stages of the birth process. Unfortunately, one of the most common and easily preventable causes of the disorder is birth trauma caused by a medial professional.

Cerebral palsy has been linked to the negligent doctor causing serious injury in the newborn child.

When cases involving birth trauma go to court, the outcome is usually favorable.  While there are continual advancements in treatment for this disorder, negligent doctors must still be held accountable for their actions. If your child had birth trauma and has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy or other disorder, please contact an experienced birth trauma attorney.