A young 4-year-old boy named Lincoln Honoway has survived a life-threatening form of anaemia, thanks to a stem cell transplant.
Lincoln was diagnosed with a condition called aplastic anaemia when he was just an infant. This condition prevents the body from producing healthy new blood cells. It is a rare condition that leads to a higher risk of infections, fatigue and uncontrolled bleeding. People with aplastic anaemia require medications and regular blood transfusions. It can be a fatal condition.
Thankfully, this condition can also be treated with a stem cell transplant.
When doctors began searching for a stem cell donor for Lincoln, they were shocked to realise there were only two matching donors. Luckily they secured the stem cells from one of the donors and prepared them for the transplant.
Before receive the stem cell transplant, Lincoln had to endure chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments to kill the dysfunctional blood cell-making stem cells in his bone marrow. Those stem cells would then be replaced by healthy stem cells from the donor.
Lincoln received the stem cell transplant at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in late 2016. Doctors were hoping that the stem cells would migrate to his bone marrow and help him produce healthy blood cells once again.
Lincolns mother described her feeling of apprehension before the surgery, saying: “[It was] almost a good feeling knowing we were heading in the direction of being cured and getting over this funny life that we’d been leading where we didn’t know what was happening next and how he was going to be.”
Receiving the chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments also meant that Lincoln could not produce white blood cells, which compromised his immune system. He had to go into isolation for 5 days while his new stem cells began producing white blood cells.
Thankfully, the procedure was a success, and Lincoln can get back to being a playful little boy!
Source: 4-year-old Saskatchewan boy on road to recovery after stem cell donation
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