Having contracted a rare disease since the first months of her life, baby girl T.L (18 months old in Hai Phong) has gone through a difficult journey to regain her life thanks to a successful blood-forming stem cell transplant at the National Children's Hospital.
The journey to discover a rare disease
When he was 4.5 months old, baby T.L began to suffer from consecutive pneumonia and had to be hospitalized for long-term treatment. Children's immune system continuously has problems, and complications of enlarged armpits appear after vaccination against tuberculosis. The family took the child to the National Children's Hospital for examination. Results of an in-depth test on immunity and genetics determined that the baby had severe congenital immunodeficiency combined with rare genetic changes.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Van Anh - Deputy Head of the Department of Immunology - Allergy - Arthritis, National Children's Hospital said: "T.L has Omenn syndrome - the most severe form of congenital immune disorder. Children have severe lymphatic decline, which can be easily easily infected, and self-inflammation that can damage multiple organs. Stem cell transplantation to create blood is the only measure that can help the child's immune system fully recover".
Stress before the fateful transplant
Stem cell transplantation procedures in young children are particularly complicated. First, the child must go through a conditionalization phase according to a specific chemical regimen, in order to remove all old bone marrow and prevent elimination. For children under 1 year old, chemical treatment is very difficult, because the body is immature, drug tolerance is poor, and there is a high risk of complications.
At the Stem Cell Center, bone marrow, after being collected from the patient's sister, is treated with a modern equipment system, ensuring a strict sterility process. This process took place very urgently and within less than an hour, the standard stem cells were ready to be transferred into the child's body.
After many consultations, doctors agreed that stem cell transplantation was the only way to save T.L. However, the preparation period was extremely stressful, because the child had infections and severe liver damage, and seemed unlikely to survive. After that, the child's condition became more stable and he was indicated for a transplant.
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Quynh Le - Head of the Stem Cell Transplant Department, who directly implemented the treatment, shared: Stem cell transplantation for young children is a huge challenge, especially for children with severe infections such as T.L. Success requires high techniques and synchronous coordination of many specialties".
Overcoming the line of life and death
After the transplant, the child was treated in a sterile room, maintained a vein, used new-generation anti-decom shot and closely monitored each blood and immune index. There have been periods when children have to use ventilators and strong antibiotics to overcome pneumonia and sepsis. But with the persistent efforts of the medical team, the new bone marrow has developed, and the immune system is gradually being re-established.
Up to now, the child has been able to breathe, suck, and laugh like a healthy baby. The doctor assessed the prognosis as positive, the child could develop normally like most other children.
