UAE's first paediatric bone marrow transplant performed in Abu Dhabi

WAM

The UAE’s first bone marrow transplant from a donor to a child has been successfully performed in Abu Dhabi.

The highly-specialised procedure was performed on a five-year-old girl from Uganda suffering from sickle cell disease.

The patient’s 10-year-old sister donated her bone marrow for the treatment at Burjeel Medical City (BMC).

Prior to the treatment, the child had to be regularly admitted to hospital due to complications arising from her disease since birth.

Allogeneic stem cell transplant involves transferring healthy blood stem cells from a donor to replace a patient’s diseased or damaged bone marrow.

The complex procedure requires collecting stem cells from the donor's blood, bone marrow within a donor's hipbone, or blood of a donated umbilical cord, before transferring to the patient, once they have undergone an intense series of chemotherapy or radiation also known as the "conditioning" process to fully kill their diseased cells and prepare their body to receive the healthy donor stem cells.

"Prior to this procedure there would have been immense suffering for the patient. The entire care team here at the hospital, as well as the child’s parents, are delighted that the transplant will relieve this pain from her life," said Doctor Zainul Aabideen, Head of Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at BMC.

The only curative treatment for this life-limiting chronic disease is bone marrow transplantation.

Other diseases for which the treatment can provide a cure include leukemia, immunodeficiency diseases, hemoglobinopathies, hodgkin's lymphoma, plasma cell disorders, and myeloma.

"Previously, our patients needed to travel abroad for this highly specialised treatment. The recent success of the stem cell transplants at our institution will provide new hope to the many patients who will benefit from similar care," explained Professor Humaid Alshamsi, Director of VPS Oncology at BMC.

More from UAE

  • UAE Central Bank sanctions exchange house

    The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) on Wednesday said it imposed sanctions on an exchange house operating in the UAE for "failing to comply with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism policies."

  • Tawazun Council signs defence deals worth AED 10.18 billion

    The UAE's defence and security acquisitions authority, Tawazun Council, secured deals worth AED 10.18 billion on the third day of IDEX and NAVDEX on Wednesday, bringing the total to AED 19.95 billion across 28 deals. 

  • UAE President reaffirms to Rubio: No Palestinian displacement

    President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday reaffirmed the UAE’s stance of rejecting any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land in a meeting with Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, who is visiting the UAE.

  • UAE leaders congratulate King of Jordan following surgery

    President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the success of the surgery he recently underwent.