Pioneering Fetal Medicine Center Gathers Thousands for 26th Annual Family Reunion

Pioneering Fetal Medicine Center Gathers Thousands for 26th Annual Family Reunion

The annual reunion brings together a unique community of families who have shared similar struggles. Nearly all the children in attendance had been prenatally diagnosed with a birth defect, such as spina bifida, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or twin-twin transfusion syndrome, that had potentially devastating outcomes.

Liam: Fetal Surgery for Myelomeningocele (MMC) Spina Bifida Repair

Liam: Fetal Surgery for Myelomeningocele (MMC) Spina Bifida Repair

“The doctor came in and handed me a box of tissues,” Katie recalls. “She was saying something about an abnormal pregnancy, shunts, abnormalities of the left leg, club foot. I was in complete shock at that point, and I couldn’t really make out what she was saying because it felt like time was suspended.”

In a span of two hours, their lives had been turned upside down.

One step closer to treating spina bifida with stem cells

One step closer to treating spina bifida with stem cells

With the CIRM funding, the UC Davis team will be able to launch their one-of-a-kind treatment in the coming months. It will be delivered while the baby is still in the mother’s womb (in utero). The complex procedure, with its unique use of a stem cell “patch,” could improve outcomes for children who are born with the severe form of spina bifida known as myelomeningocele.