In Ukraine, a Bone Marrow Transplantation was Performed for the First Time on a 2-Month-Old Infant

First-ever in Ukraine, a 2-month-old child underwent a bone marrow transplantation: thanks to neonatal screening, immunodeficiency was detected immediately after birth. The National Children's Specialized Hospital "Okhmatdyt" reported that the donor for the boy was his 4-year-old elder brother.

When Maxim was born, like other newborns, a blood sample was taken for neonatal screening for 21 rare diseases. The mother of the boy recalls that when her older son was born, they also had screening, but at that time the child was only tested for 4 diseases.

Maxim was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency. Doctors explain that without a bone marrow transplantation, only 5% of such patients survive up to 300 days of life, while 95% mostly die from infections. Therefore, it is crucial to start treatment as early as possible.

"On the 48th hour of the child's life, blood samples were taken for research. The primary examination was conducted at the Lviv Screening Center, and the unfortunate result was confirmed at the expert center of Okhmatdyt. Thanks to the screening, the disease was detected before the appearance of the first symptoms, and timely treatment was initiated," said Natalia Olkhovych, the head of the Medical Genetics Laboratory at the National Children's Specialized Hospital "Okhmatdyt."

After the treatment, the child underwent transplantation. At that time, Maxim was not even 2 months old. He became the youngest patient in Ukraine to undergo a bone marrow transplantation.

"The bone marrow transplantation allowed us to correct the immune system of the boy. Now he has a chance for a full and long life. His immune system no longer fears infections," noted Oleksandr Lysytsia, the head of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Department.

Previously, the youngest patient to undergo a bone marrow transplantation in Ukraine was 7 months old, and the oldest was 57 years old.

Bone marrow transplantation, also known as stem cell transplantation, is a medical procedure used to treat various diseases, including pediatric cancer and sickle cell anemia. Damaged or destroyed blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells are replaced with healthy blood-forming stem cells.