Alaphia Zoyab for NDTV

Chennai, Jul 20: The curative powers of stem cell treatment in blood related disorders has been well-known for some time.

But for the first time in Chennai, the procedure has been carried out between a donor and patient who were unrelated to each other. This brings hope to people suffering from hematological problems.

Sarah Asiimwe lost her seven-year-old son to a rare blood disease many years ago; she wasn't going to let that happen again to her youngest son Howard.

Howard was also diagnosed with Fanconi anemia last year; a condition characterized by bone marrow failure.

Today the playful eight-year-old is being presented as India's first successful case of unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation.

Till a few years ago only Howard's brother or sister would have been able to save him, that too only if their HLA, a component of the human immune system, matched.

With medical advances a totally unrelated donor can save him, in this case two African mothers in the US.

''We were willing to proceed with the unrelated transplants because the risks were similar to a related transplant. We were already doing related transplants since 1995,'' said Jose M Easow, Blood and Marrow Unit incharge, Apollo Specialty Hospital.

Howard accepted being scared, on hearing about the procedure.'' When I heard about that transplant I got very scared but when they did it I didn't feel anything,'' he said.

A silver lining

Stem cell transplants have proved most effective with blood related disorders. But in other areas also it offers hope.

This was evident in the case of some paraplegics, who regained sensation and motor ability after treatment.

''We've not only been doing stem cells for neurological diseases, we are wildly excited by what stem cells can do in liver diseases,'' said Dr J S Rajkumar, Chairman, Lifeline Hospitals.

For Howard's family India was the best option. The procedure was done for Rs 45 lakh, while in the US it would cost as much as Rs 4.5 crore.

Young Howard's body though can yet reject the outside cells, so he is not completely out of the woods.

But doctors are satisfied with the results so far and are ready to send him back home to Uganda.