Haploidentical Bone Marrow Transplant Saves a Two-Year-Old With Leukemia

A rare and new form of organ transplantation gave a new lease of life for a two-year-old baby girl in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Prachi was suffering from a severe form of blood cancer called as acute myeloid leukemia(AML). Her condition became so critical that doctors had to rule out chemotherapy from her treatment options.

‘A two-year-old baby with leukemia undergoes first half-match bone marrow transplant in Rajasthan.’

Doctors then decided to perform a rare surgery called as haploidentical bone marrow transplant (HBMT). The surgery is popular in the west compared to India and the baby was the first to be saved using this technique in the state.

Haploidentical bone marrow transplant is a form of bone marrow transplant, where the doctors prefer a close match of HLA (human leukocyte antigen) markers between the patient and donor. Though getting a 100% match is tough, HBLT requires only a 50% match between the patient's HLA markers and donor's.

The baby's father donated his stem cells as he was found to have a 50 percent match. The surgery was performed in June last year and the baby has recovered well.

Source: Medindia