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Bone marrow transplant can save this boy

DUBAI — Little Mohammad Shehryar’s body has been pricked by needles endlessly since he was three months old. Six-year-old now, he has received more than 70 blood transfusions since his birth.

Shehryar was diagnosed with Beta Thalassaemia Major a few days after he was born and for survival he needs a blood transfusion every three weeks. Mohammed Sarfaraz, the father of the Pakistani boy, is a radar technician based in Al Ain Air Base and a responsible officer in UAE Air Force while his four children, including Shehryar, and his wife lives in a remote village of Punjab in Pakistan.

“The only option for Shehryar’s survival is bone marrow transplant,” says a visibly upset Sarfaraz. “My eldest daughter’s HLA matches 100 per cent with my son. So we have a great chance to cure my son’s disease and to save his life,” he said hopefully.

Giving details about the present state of treatment Shehryar was receiving, Sarfaraz said, “My village does not have any hospital, but only a small clinic run by a medical assistant. Due to these inappropriate facilities, my son has acquired Hepatitis ‘C’ and he is also severely under-transfused due to non-availability of his blood group which is A -ive,” he says.

Sarfaraz said that though medical facilities were better in the UAE, he could not bring the family due to several reasons including financial and social pressures. “The only choice I have is to continue getting improper medical facilities for my son and keep his life in danger. But the whole family is in tremendous mental and physical pressure and even my other children are terribly affected. To make things worse, I am also not there to physically support them,” said Sarfaraz.

“The case is so complicated due to the presence of Hepatitis C, I am forced to take up the transplant in Italy where I have consulted expert doctors,” said Sarfaraz. “The cost of the operation is roughly 74,000 euros which I cannot afford. If we do not avail of this opportunity, then the type of medical facility he is exposed to, he has very less chances of survival,” he said.