Cuttack (Odisha): Regaining consciousness after doctors harvested stem cells from her body, four-year-old Atifa Naz keenly waited at the ward of the SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack, to see her younger sister Alisa Naz, just two, recuperate from deadly cancer. Well, her wait came to end when the SCB doctors successfully performed the pediatric allogenic bone marrow transplant, in what happens to be the first such surgery ever witnessed in the state.
Atifa was all smiles when she was informed by her parents that she has become a life-saver for her younger sibling. The miracle was pulled off by science and an inseparable bond of a family, which had come all the way from Dhanbad in Jharkhand to Odisha's millennium city Cuttack.
For months, Shahrukh Dansari and Shahida Khatun ran from pillar to post, moving from one hospital to other, seeking remedies for their two-year-old daughter battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a severe form of blood cancer. They finally landed at SCB Hospital, waiting for some positive outcome. God seems to have answered their prayers now.
"Both the kids are healthy. The allogenic bone marrow transplant was successfully done on the two-year-old kid on February 6. Both the siblings will be discharged in 2-3 days," said Professor Ravindra Kumar Jena, head of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) department.
Reportedly, Aliza was diagnosed with high-risk leukemia at a tender age when her father took her to Vellore for checkup. Later, on July 3, Aliza was admitted to Tata Memorial Hospital, Jamshedpur where doctors suggested an allogeneic bone marrow transplant and asked him to identify a suitable stem cell donor. Later, with the consent of the family, the family agreed to donate the stem cells of Aliza's sister Atifa. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) test of both sisters was done at Tata Memorial Hospital and the HLA match was also confirmed. When Aliza underwent three chemotherapy sessions and still showed no signs of improvement, Tata Memorial hospital doctors advised to take her to SCB hospital as bone marrow transplant would have been too expensive for Sharukh in any of the private hospitals.
At SCB, there was a ray of hope. Led by Professor Ravindra Kumar Jena, the team comprising Dr Lucy Das, Dr Sudha Sethi, Professor Dr Geeta Sethi and others worked tirelessly to ensure a successful outcome. "Aliza was admitted to SCB hospital on January 7. The medical authorities discussed with Aliza's family and explained in detail about the transplant. We started the treatment on January 27. Stem cell donor Atifa was admitted to SCB on January 28. After carrying out all related tests at the hospital, the bone marrow transplant was done through allogeneic method," Prof Jena said.
Though initially reluctant, Atifa underwent the procedure and her stem cells were extracted by giving her anesthesia. After the transplant, a strong Atifa started playing games on her mobile phone as she waited for her little sister to recover. It was amazing to see, the senior doctor expressed.
Prof Jena explained that bone marrow transplant is a costly affair. But with free services available at SCB, many patients have benefited out of it. Since 2014, 176 bone marrow transplants have been successfully conducted in SCB, and the number is only going to go up.
