Baby needs rare blood to stay alive

A marathon public campaign is going on to save the life of a seven-month old baby boy suffering from a unique genetic disorder that requires a matching blood cell transfusion to save his life.

Baby Sijo, son of an Indian engineer working in Oman, has been undergoing treatment in Oman and back home in India to treat a genetic disorder called ‘Severe Combined Immuno Deficiency’, also known as ‘bubble boy disease.’ Doctors at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, where the baby is currently under treatment, are confident that the baby can come back to life if they get just 25ml of blood from someone with matching DNA.

The baby’s parents – K M Sijoy of Kozhikode and Ashwathy of Kuttippuram in Kerala -- made an appeal for help from the public for suitable blood so that the matching stem cell can be transplanted to cure the baby’s disease. The parents are overwhelmed by the phone calls and response from the public.

Though hundreds of donors have come forward to give their blood samples to save the baby’s life, none of them had blood that matched the baby’s DNA. After the baby’s plight was reported on social networking sites and the ‘Malayala Manorama’ newspaper printed a front-page appeal, and pain and palliative care volunteers spread the word about the requirement of just 25ml of blood, many NRI volunteers have come forward to donate blood, but that rare person with blood matching the baby’s DNA is yet to be located.

After the story was aired by a Dubai-based Malayalam FM radio station, some volunteers came forward to donate their blood and are exploring the possibility of sending their saliva samples for DNA testing. “Many callers were keen to help the baby but doctors said it is expensive to send saliva samples to Germany or USA for a DNA matching test. Just one test will cost about Dh3000 but some people are keen to join the blood sample collection drive,” said Shabu, head of news at Hit 96.7.

He said many Indian expatriates have expressed their readiness to help the NRI baby, and the message is spreading through social networking sites. Blood samples will be collected from the Palakkad, Ernamkulam and Kozhikode district headquarters on March 22, 23 and 24, according to the Pain and Palliative Care unit of Kozhikode.

Mobile units in UAE are also getting ready to collect blood samples as the probability of finding matching DNA is only one in 10 million, according to experts.

“We have collected the saliva of many potential donors to check whether their DNA matches that of the baby. The samples are sent to a lab in USA as the facility is not available in India,” said a source from the Pain and Palliative Care Unit of Kozhikode, which is spearheading the campaign.

“Camps are planned in major cities and colleges to collect saliva samples from volunteers willing to donate their blood. A Bengaluru-based voluntary group has started the campaign which is now spreading through social networking sites and the media. We are getting hundreds of calls from donors willing to help the baby,” said the source.

According to medical experts, ‘Severe Combined Immuno Deficiency’ is a primary immune deficiency. Its defining characteristic is usually a severe defect in both the T- & B-lymphocyte systems. This usually results in the onset of one or more serious infections within the first few months of life.
 

Contact: https://www.facebook.com/stemcelldonarrequired

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