Many parents are now saving their newborn’s cord blood, which is known to help treat a variety of serious conditions. This is the case with Madeleine Connor. Madeline, two years old, suffered from hearing loss when her mother, Stephanie Connor, contracted a virus during pregnancy. The virus put Madeleine at risk of brain damage and lifelong hearing loss.

In January 2012, Madeleine was the first child undergo an experimental procedure through an FDA-approved trial at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. The cheef of this trial - doctor Samer Fakhr. During the procedure, stem cells from her cord blood were infused into her damaged inner ear.

Madeleine has had incredible results, with a dramatic improvement in her ability to hear. As her mother explains in the ABC interview, “Before, when she would hear something she would look all around,” Connor said. “But now we notice that she turns in the right direction of the sound.”

Connor said the improvement she has seen so far is enough that she is grateful that she enrolled in the trial, and she hopes the study will prove to be beneficial in repairing hearing loss so other children can be treated successfully.

This yearlong study will follow 10 children, including Madeleine, ages 6 weeks to 18 months, who have acquired hearing loss and who have banked their cord blood with the Cord Blood Registry.

Full article abcnews.go.com