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Saviour at birth: Boy's stems cells help cure sister's thalassaemia

Two-year-old Mohammad doesn’t know what his birth means to his parents and siblings, especially his eldest sister, Mahra.

He is special in all ways because Mohammad is the boy who saved his sister. Also because of him, Mahra is among the few people who have been cured of thalassemia in the UAE.

It all started five years ago when Mahra was diagnosed with the life-threatening blood disorder which meant both her parents were carriers of the disease, though it was unknown to them.

“Mahra must have been only three months when I noticed that she appeared to be unusually pale,” said her mother who resides with her husband and three other children in Kalba, Sharjah.

“She was finally diagnosed with thalassemia…we had to take her to Latifa Hospital in Dubai for a blood transfusion every three to four weeks. “She was small and had her entire life ahead of her, I could not see her suffer so much…It was then we decided to take a risk and have another child who could hopefully donate stem cells and save our daughter’s life.”

Mahra was cured of thalassemia after undergoing stem cell transplant. — Supplied photo

Mohammad was born in 2011 in Latifa Hospital and immediately upon birth, his mother decided to save his cord blood at the Dubai Cord Blood and Research Centre (DCRC) with the intention of a stem cell transplant that was the only way to save his sister.

Luckily, Mohammad’s stem cells matched those of his sister 100 per cent. The transplant was done in 2012 in the UK since there is no such facility in the UAE yet.

Mahra is completely cured now.

“Before the transplant, Mahra had a very low immunity and was not able attend school regularly, but now she is like any regular student,” said her mother.

“I am so thankful to Allah that we took this decision to have Mohammad and saved his cord blood,” she added.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

Donate cord blood to save others’ lives

DCRC head says more awareness has to be created among parents to take this crucial decision

“Mahra is one among the six lucky people to be cured of blood disorders by stem cell transplants obtained from cord blood,” said Fatma Al Hashimi, Head of the Education and Development Unit at the DCRC.

“Only one case was unsuccessful due to improper follow up by the patient.”

The six successful cases have obtained stem cells from the centre between 2006, when the centre was established in Latifa Hospital, and 2013.

Five transplants were done on Emiratis with Thalassemia, one for Fanconi Anemia in a Jordanian patient and one for Leukemia in an Indian patient over these years.

The centre currently has 4,300 samples, the majority of which have been donated by the public, mostly Emiratis, from women who gave birth in government and private hospitals.

“We always tell women, if your family has no history of disease, then why don’t you donate?,” said Fatma. “You never know when this might be helpful since the more varied ethnicities of people donate, the more the chances of saving a life.”

Stem cells processed from the collected umbilical/placenta blood are stored in special nitrogen-filled 500 containers at -193 degree Celsius – a temperature chilled enough to slice your finger if proper precautions are not taken.

The centre charges Dh9,000 to store the samples for 25 years.

“This is good enough a deal to save a life…we do not charge for liquid nitrogen which itself is very expensive and requires change every other week,” said Al Hashimi.

“Also, since there are no transplants being done in the UAE currently, we ship the samples (which can cost up to Dh3,000) to any place in the world where the transplant is being done.”

In 2012, since the establishment of the education department at the DCRC, more than 700 units were collected, which was almost double the number of units collected in 2011.

Despite an increase in the number of donations, Al Hashimi feels that more awareness needs to be raised.

A study carried out by the centre among pregnant Emirati women on what stops them from donating concluded that at least 90 per cent of them were not aware that such a choice existed. Another 10 per cent cited religious reasons and said their husbands did not give permissions.

“More awareness campaigns need to be held, especially in schools,” she said. “I also feel that doctors (gynaecologists) should learn about this while earning their degree and also explain this option to their patients during consultations,” she added.

Local registry

The centre started a registry in 2012, the first one in the region. With a total of 1,300 samples in the registry currently, Al Hashimi hopes that the numbers will grow.

“Many Arab families are in need of cord blood and the centre is sometimes unable to find a match with the same ethnic diversity.

“Therefore, the DCRC encourages families to donate cord blood stem cells so that we have a strong UAE public registry to help people in need. Stem cells are the future of medicine and public banking is a trend that is catching on globally due to the several diseases stem cells can cure.”

Presently, more than 80 diseases can be cured with the help of stem cells and this includes leukaemia, and treatment of genetic disorders such as thalassemia.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com