Iraqi girl gets a new lease of life, Indian docs find marrow donor in Germany

Nearly three years ago, when Banin Mohammad Humza, now 15, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia (SAA), a condition in which bone marrow does not make enough blood cells, her family did not know what the future held for them. After several attempts, the doctors in their country gave up and the Iraqi family decided to come to India. Little did they know that even that won’t solve their problems as they couldn’t find a matching donor.

But their painful year-long wait is now finally over, with a match being found in Germany.

“She started showing symptoms two-and-a-half-years ago. Her condition was deteriorating with each passing day and she would require frequent platelet and blood transfusion. We were worried about her condition,” her father Mohammad Hamza said.

In nearly 75 per cent of the SAA cases, a match cannot be found within the family and an alternative donor is required. Doctors in India tried to find a suitable donor for Banin and checked all the registries of stem cell donors but in vain. So, they started looking at the registries of other countries. Fortunately, they have found a matching donor in Germany.

“The patient’s condition was deteriorating and she was not responding to any …read more