While children often get sick thanks to their siblings, eight-year-old Thamirabharuni Kumar has her little brother to thank for making her better. But unlike colds, flu or stomach bugs, Thamirabharuni suffered from something much more serious: thalassemia.
Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder which affects the body’s ability to produce hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells. Because hemoglobin carries oxygen and nutrients to the body’s tissues, thalassemia causes anemia. If left untreated, severe anemia can cause many health problems and can even inhibit normal growth and development. Typically, patients with thalassemia must undergo monthly blood transfusions for the rest of their lives in order to supply them with healthy amounts of hemoglobin.
The Kumar family, who lives in India, learned of Thamirabharuni’s condition when she was about 18 months old. At that time, her doctor made a recommendation that sounds like something straight out of the movie "My Sister’s Keeper." The doctor suggested the family consider having another child in hopes that baby’s stem cells from his umbilical cord blood would provide a perfect match for Thamirabharuni. Umbilical cord blood stem cells from siblings offer a 25% chance of a perfect donor match. In order to be effective, a perfect match is critical in the treatment of thalassemia. In all stem cell therapies, a perfect match also reduces the risk of rejection or graft-versus-host disease.
Just five months after conception, tests performed in-utero determined that baby Pugazhendhi does not suffer from thalessemia. Tests performed right after his birth confirmed that he is a perfect donor match for his sister. Cryo-Cell International’s technology partner in India, LifeCell International Pvt. Ltd., donated the cost of collecting and storing Pugazhendhi’s umbilical cord blood.
In March of 2009, Dr. Revathy Raj of the Apollo Speciality Hospital in Chennai, India, performed the transplant, which required no surgery. Doctors report that the procedure cured Thamirabharuni, although the fact that she must take immune suppressing drugs for one year makes her vulnerable to infections. She also is at risk for developing graft versus host disease, although having a perfect match from a sibling reduces this risk significantly. The risks of rejection and of graft versus host disease reduce with time.
When asked about her experience, Thamirabharuni said, "When they used the needles for blood transfusion it would hurt… and sometimes they would never get the vein but still I had to go for blood transfusion every month." She added, "My brother’s cord blood saved me or I knew I wouldn’t have been alive for long. I love my brother."
LifeCell International President and Executive Director Mr. Mayur Abhaya said, "We at LifeCell would like to congratulate Mr. Senthil Kumar and his family on Thamirabharuni’s triumph over Thalassemia. This success I am sure will give new hope to thousands of families whose children are unfortunately the victim of this dreadful disease. It feels very fulfilling that LifeCell could make an impact in a child’s life… we are very happy to be a part of this success story."