Teen Donates Stem Cells to Save Younger Brother Battling Leukemia
Chandigarh — A 17-year-old girl donated stem cells to help save her 10-year-old brother, who was battling leukemia, as Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre successfully carried out its first allogeneic bone marrow transplant.
The boy, from Durgapur in West Bengal, was diagnosed in April with a second relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of blood cancer. His family traveled to the hospital, a unit of Tata Memorial Centre under the Department of Atomic Energy, to continue his treatment.
After intensive chemotherapy, the boy went into remission. Because of the high risk of the cancer returning, doctors recommended an allogeneic stem cell transplant as the best curative option.
An allogeneic bone marrow transplant involves replacing a patient’s diseased blood-forming system with healthy blood-forming stem cells from another person.
“The patient’s elder sister was identified as the most suitable donor after detailed donor evaluation. Her stem cells were collected and infused into her brother through a vein. The transplanted cells successfully engrafted and, following close monitoring and supportive care, the child has now recovered and was discharged from the hospital, in good health, on Tuesday. We will continue to closely monitor him during the post-transplant period,” said Dr. Jasmeet Sidhu, a pediatric hematologist, oncologist and bone marrow transplant physician.
Dr. Seema Gulia, head of the Department of Medical Oncology, said stem cell transplants require careful planning, donor selection, infection prevention and intensive supportive care.
“Transplantations require meticulous planning, precise donor selection, infection prevention and intensive supportive care. The hospital’s medical oncology department, with a dedicated paediatric oncology unit, is equipped with modern treatment facilities like monoclonal antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, immunotherapies and targeted therapies for adult and paediatric patients. It is pertinent to mention that the treatment here is highly subsidized,” she said.
Hospital Director Dr. Ashish Gulia described the transplant as both a medical and human milestone.
“For us, this is not only a medical milestone but a deeply human one. This story of a young brother and sister shows the hope that advanced cancer care can offer to families facing some of the most difficult moments of their lives. We ensured that the patient’s family is supported medically, emotionally, as well as financially,” he said.
He said the hospital’s medical social work team arranged more than Rs 14 lakh in financial assistance through government programs and corporate social responsibility support, along with accommodation for the family during treatment.
“Since the inception of the BMT programme in 2024, the hospital has performed 15 stem cell transplants and three CAR-T cell therapy infusions, so that patients with difficult-to-treat blood cancers can access potentially curative treatment. We are committed to providing world-class cancer treatment at an affordable cost, across North India,” Dr. Gulia added. (Source: IANS)
