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Stem cell transplant gives disabled boy hope of a hug

A five year old boy could be able to hug his family for the first time after receiving a stem cell transplant from his baby brother.

Jay Shetty is severely disabled after suffering brain damage shortly after birth. He has never been able to play with brother Kairav, or hug his mother Shilpa or father Raj, 36, an accountant, of Wimbledon, south London.

Now he is set to receive stem cells from Kairav which could improve all his symptoms, including severe sight loss. The pioneering treatment, being carried out at Dukes University, North Carolina, will be one of the first in the world using blood stem cells from a sibling’s umbilical cord.