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3-year-old turns saviour for older brother in Dubai

Dubai - Thanks to his cord blood cells, thalassemic brother lives normally.

A seven-year-old Emirati boy, Zayed, has reason enough to be thankful for his younger brother. The three-year-old donated cord blood cells to save his elder brother's life, after all.
A year on after the transplant, Zayed is completely free of the disease and is now like any normal and healthy child.
Zayed was born with the condition Beta Thalassemia Major, the most severe form of the life-threatening blood disease that requires a blood transfusion every two weeks. The only known cure for Beta Thalassemia Major is a stem cell transplant.
"The child's condition was deteriorating fast and the family were given their last chance of hope thanks to the umbilical cord blood storage of Zayed's younger brother Mohammed," according to Mai Ibrahim, Lab Director and Head of Quality Department, CryoSave Arabia, the private stem cell bank that stored Mohammed's cord blood.
Zayed and Mohammed's parents had taken the decision to store their younger son's cord blood with CryoSave Arabia in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) during the birth of the younger child at Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
"Thankfully, detailed HLA typing (to match a potential donor and patient) showed the siblings were compatible to a high enough level for a transplant to take place at the end of last year," said Mai who travelled with the family to the US for the procedure.
The transplant was carried out in the United States at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, in conjunction with CryoSave Arabia, where the sample was stored and shipped. This transplant is said to be the first privately stored stem cell transplant from UAE to US.
Since the transplant, the family are back home in Abu Dhabi where Zayed has made a full recovery and no longer suffers signs of the disease, nor has he required the regular monthly blood transfusions.
"The follow up is required initially after 60 days, then 100 and then after a year.today, after a year, Zayed is doing well and is attending school as any normal child," explained Mai.
"Earlier, he used to remain lethargic and was weak."
"Our son is in much better condition after the transplant, it has been remarkable," said Nouh Alhammadi, the father of Zayed.
"Stem cell storage is so valuable even though it is something that you hope you will never need, like insurance. In our case we did need it and we are incredibly glad we made the decision to store the cord blood in the first place otherwise our family's future would be very different,'' he said.
"CryoSave processed the sample here in the UAE and provided us with an update when the sample was stored, including how viable the blood was. They did testing on the sample before the release prior to the transplant and worked closely with the transplant doctor to ensure a positive outcome," added Alhammadi.
Kenneth R. Cooke, MD, Director, Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Programme, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said: "Stem cell storage really can change lives and to see such a positive outcome with Zayed's case shows just what is possible."
"I would always recommend families to store their child's cord blood whether they know of any possible health issues or not, as it can be used in the future for theirs and possibly other family members' benefit. As Mohammed's stem cells were stored outside of the US, in the UAE, it was imperative to ensure all the necessary criteria were met in terms of accreditation and compliance, as well as the safe and timely transportation of the sample," he added.
The samples that include cord blood and tissue can be stored for 25 years at one time cost of Dh16,500. Blood, immune and metabolic disorders are among the several diseases that can be treated through stem cell transplant.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com