A 13-year-old girl suffering from thalassemia major - class III received a life-saving bone marrow transplant from her mother through haploidentical stem cell transplantation at the American Oncology Institute in Hyderabad.
Thalassemia major is an inherited blood disease that requires monthly blood transfusions due to lower lifespan of red blood cells. However, these transfusions can lead to complications such as viral infections and iron overload, causing organ damage and growth-related issues.
The patient, from Vizag, had been undergoing regular blood transfusions and chelation therapy since she was 8 months old. She was referred to the American Oncology Institute (AOI) where Dr. C.S. Ranjith Kumar, a pediatric-hemato-oncologist and BMT specialist, evaluated her condition. After thorough investigation and treatment for high iron levels, the patient’s 32-year-old mother was identified as the donor for the haploidentical stem cell transplantation.
India faces a significant burden with around 100,000 β-thalassemia patients, but many families struggle to afford allogeneic stem cell transplants, the only curative treatment available. Dr. C.S. Ranjith Kumar highlighted that stem cell transplantation remains the only life-saving cure for children with blood disorders like thalassemia.
