SUKABUMIUPDATE.com – Ramathibodi Hospital in Thailand announced the first successful stem cell transplant case in the world. This case involved a young patient with the Covid-19 corona virus who donated his bone marrow to his sister.
Reporting from suara.com, Prof. Dr. Suradet Hongeng, an expert in stem cell transplantation in the pediatrics department of the medical faculty of Ramathibodi Hospital, announced his success in front of the media crew.
Suradet Hongeng said that the stem cell transplant procedure was carried out in April 2020. A 6-year-old boy, Jio Boonklomjit donated bone marrow stem cells to save his older sister.
Jio’s 7-year-old sister, Jintanakan, also known as Jean, was born with thalassemia.
“This case is very challenging and complicated. Right on the day we had to take stem cells from Jio, we found he was infected with the Covid-19 corona virus. The condition put Jio into a patient in another case,” Suradet Hongeng was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
In addition, the two patients who underwent the stem cell transplant procedure were also very young, namely 5 years and 7 years. Therefore, the media team is very careful in doing so.
Suradet said the procedure of collecting stem cells from Jio’s bone marrow was covered with a large risk, including the risk of having stem cells infected with the corona virus Covid-19.
This stem cell transplant procedure also improved because Jio had to undergo quarantine. In addition, the safety of medical personnel on duty is also threatened during operations.
“This case first occurred in the world when a condition urged medical personnel to collect stem cells from corona Covid-19 virus patients for stem cell transplants,” he explained.
Apart from the risk of being infected with Covid-19, doctors must also race against time. Because, Jean has low immunity due to chemotherapy. So that the stem cell transplant process can put it at great risk if it takes too long.
The stem cell transplantation process was also carried out by Assoc Prof. Dr. Usanarat Anurathapan, from the division of hematology and oncology from the department of pediatrics in the medical faculty of Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University.
“It’s not easy to find other stem cell donors for Jean. Because, it is rare to find compatible stem cells from donors who have no genetic connection. If possible, the chances are only 1 in 20 thousand to 50 thousand and that way takes longer,” explained Dr. Usanarat.
On the other hand, genetic modification is also impossible. Because of this, the only hope is Jio’s stem cells. Doctors are very careful in considering this case until they are convinced that the chances of success outweigh the risks.
“Luckily, Jean’s stem cell transplantation process from patients infected with the Covid-19 corona virus was successful. This success brought joy because it saved his life, but this has also been another milestone,” he said.
source: suara.com
