Lisa Maxson Story: Celebrating 10 Years Cancer Free thanks to Cord Blood Donors

Lisa Maxson celebrated the 10^th anniversary of her double cord blood transplant on 15 Dec. 2021.  Her medical journey began in August 2011 with a diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). At that time, Lisa was 28 years old, and together with her husband Tom, she had three children ages 16 months, 3 years, and 5 years.

Due to the aggressive nature of AML, Lisa was immediately put on track for a stem cell transplant. But surprisingly, none of the registered bone marrow donors were a match for the Caucasian mother from Troy, Ohio. Her oncology team turned to searches of cord blood units in public banks, and found two units that were perfect matches for a transplant. Lisa’s story is featured by the Cleveland Cord Blood Center.

Thanks to her double cord blood transplant, Lisa is here today to watch her now 11 year old child play golf, her 13 year old play football, and her 16 year old now drives a car and plays travel softball. Lisa is thankful for the hard work of all the cord blood professionals that have made this possible.

“I may never get the chance to meet the two baby girls whose cells are inside me, and I don’t know why their parents donated their umbilical cord blood, but I’m so glad they did,” she continued. “If it wasn’t for the cord blood matches on the registry, I wouldn’t be here to cheer on my own children. I can now be there for them as they grow up…and throughout their lives.”

Lisa feels it is time to pay forward the gift of life that she has received. She now advocates for others like herself, because everyone deserves to have a match for a life-saving transplant. She delivers hope by working as a trained medical courier for Be The Match, delivering bone marrow stem cells all across the United States. Finally, Lisa and her family have launched the Buckeye 5K Run/Walk in her home town to raise awareness and funding for Be The Match.

Lisa recorded a 2 minute video on the occasion of the 2021 Cord Blood Connect annual meeting of the Cord Blood Association, which you can watch on the website of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center or on YouTube (click on the screenshot below).