Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Sep 19: A 17-year-old girl donated her stem cells to give her 10-year-old brother a second chance at life after he battled leukemia, as Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (HBCH&RC) near here successfully performed its first allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT).
The boy, a resident of Durgapur in West Bengal, was diagnosed with a second relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in April. His family travelled to HBCH&RC, a unit of Tata Memorial Centre under the Department of Atomic Energy, to continue his treatment.
Following intensive chemotherapy, the child achieved remission. However, given the high risk of recurrence, doctors recommended an allogeneic stem cell transplant as the best curative treatment.
An allogeneic bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant, involves replacing a patient's diseased blood-forming system with healthy blood-forming stem cells obtained 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 paediatric hematologist-oncologist and BMT physician Dr Jasmeet Sidhu.
Dr Seema Gulia, head of the Department of Medical Oncology, said successful transplantation requires 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 subsidised,” she said.
Hospital Director Dr Ashish Gulia described the transplant as both a medical milestone and a deeply human one.
“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.
The hospital’s medical social work team facilitated more than Rs 14 lakh in financial assistance through government schemes and corporate social responsibility (CSR) support, besides arranging accommodation for the family during the 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.