Baby Mia Brown, who was born with Hydrocephalus – fluid on the brain – may be given a new lease of life if her family can raise £10,000 to send her to the US for pioneering treatment.

The 11-month-old baby, from Bingley, has already had surgery to fit a device called a shunt to drain the fluid and one course of stem cell therapy treatment, but she may still be left with permanent brain damage.

The condition means her physical and mental development is delayed and a linked condition, known as septo optic displasia, means her eyes cannot focus.

Mia’s family and friends have raised about £5,000 towards the cost of travel and to pay for a second programme of radical treatment to re-infuse blood taken from her umbilical cord before she was born.

The groundbreaking medical treatment is thought to dramatically enhance the body’s ability to repair itself.

Mum Michelle Monk, 35, said: “We found out she had the condition at a 20-week scan and that the ventricles (tiny blood vessels) in her brain have a severe amount of fluid, which compresses the brain.

“When we found out about the fluid, I went online and found an American website where these American mums were having their umbilical cord and placenta blood banked. They took the blood and saved it and then it gets re-infused back into her. It is Mia’s blood, so there is less chance of her rejecting it.”

Mia has already undergone one course of treatment in the US to transfuse 350 million of her blood cells into her body during treatment in May.

However, doctors told Miss Monk and Mia’s dad Jason Brown they would have to return for an infusion of another 175 million more cells within the next six months to limit the danger of Mia suffering permanent brain damage.

Miss Monk said: “Mia has just got another treatment to go now and that is why we’ve got all this fundraising going on. We are looking to raise £10,000 and we are half-way there.”

Thousands of pounds have already been raised by events including a fire walk at the Brown Cow pub in Bingley and a race night organised by Mia’s aunty Tracy Monk. On Saturday, a rugby league derby match between Keighley Albion and Worth Village will be revived and there will be a charity auction.