Senthil Kumar and Sarojini, a couple from Tamil Nadu, were clueless when doctors said that their one and a half year old daughter Thamirabharani’s body is incapable of producing haemoglobin in red blood cells which carry oxygen to various parts of the body. Clinical tests confirmed that Thamirabharani was affected by Thalassemia, a rare blood disorder. At that time they didn’t know that their daughter would be the first ever patient in India to be successfully treated with stem-cell therapy.
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A team of doctors and specialists from Chennai and Coimbatore performed the first successful treatment of Thalassemia on Thamirabharani using the umbilical cord blood of her sibling Pugazhendi. Stem cells extracted from the cord blood during the birth of Pugazhendi were transplanted in Thamirabharani. After the mandatory five months’ observation period, doctors announced Thamirabharani cured of Thalassemia.
The rare blood disorder left Thamirabharani at the mercy of regular blood transfusions and she had very little energy to go about her routine life. Thamirabharani’s mother Sarojini aborted her next two pregnancies fearing the recurrence of the disorder. The parents had no idea regarding stem-cell therapy when doctors spoke to them about it. The doctors asked whether they had Thamirabharani’s stem cells preserved. It was 2001 and the parents had just heard the word stem-cell for the first time in their lives. A sibling’s stem cells too would be useful, the doctors said.
It was after this that Sarojini conceived Pugazhendi, and stem-cells from his umbilical cord blood were collected and preserved. Nine years ago, as an eight year old kid, Thamirabharani underwent the therapy, laying claim to be the first such patient in India. Now she is cured of the symptoms and is back in school, working towards her ambition of becoming a teacher. “Its a once in a lifetime opportunity which shouldn’t be missed during a child’s birth. Storing a baby’s stem cell can help give a new lease of life to someone within the family who is in need,” says Senthil Kumar.
Image Credit: livemint.com
Stem cell awareness is slowly catching up with people. It is said that every month, more parents are opting for stem cell banking. Experts in the field say that with increasing awareness among the parents about preserving their baby’s stem cells, India has the potential to become the largest inventory of stem cells globally. It will increase the scope of potentially life-saving stem cell transplants for babies, their families, their communities and others of Indian origin worldwide. But stem cell banking is very expensive and not everyone can afford it. If government steps in and provides help for stem cell banking, the costs will go down. Experts insist on ‘Community Stem Cell Banking’ which provides collective family benefit 12 to16 times more over private stem cell banking. Here, the preserved cord blood stem cell units can be accessed by any member of the community, including the parents, when required.
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