Leukemia victim appeals for help to get treatment

A Pakistani man suffering from leukemia is appealing for help to pay for a marrow transplant surgery at home after doctors told him his body is no longer responding to chemical treatment, a newspaper said on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Mohammed, a government employee in Ajman, has been receiving chemical treatment at Twam hospital in the eastern oasis town of Al-Ain for nearly nine years but doctors have just told him he must have an operation.

Emirat Alyoum Arabic language daily said the operation in Pakistan costs around Dh87,000 and quoted Mohammed as saying he could not afford it on the grounds his monthly salary is only about Dh1,885.

“Doctors in Al Ain told me a marrow transplant operation is not available in the UAE and I later found that it can be done in Pakistan,” he said.

“I appeal for all benevolent people in this blessed month to help me to pay the cost of treatment…I have knocked at the doors of many charity establishments here but no one has agreed to help.”

Leukemia is characterized by a rapid increase in the numbers of immature blood cells. Crowding due to such cells makes the bone marrow unable to produce healthy blood cells.

Immediate treatment is required in acute leukemia due to the rapid progression and accumulation of the malignant cells, which then spill over into the bloodstream and spread to other organs of the body.

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