Child with Leukemia Successfully Receives Double Transplant in Italy
A three-year-old child suffering from myeloid leukemia has made medical history by undergoing a double transplant at the Irccs Sant’Orsola in Bologna, Italy. The child, who is three years and eight months old, is the smallest patient in Europe to receive this procedure, and the second case in the world.
The child, who arrived at the Bologna hospital from Bosnia with the support of the Ageop-Ricerca Association, received a marrow transplant followed by a microbiota transplant. The marrow donation came from the child’s mother, but unfortunately, the child developed intestinal GvHD, a serious complication of rejection disease, after the transplant.
Despite being hospitalized for two months and undergoing immunosuppressive therapy, including an experimental drug, the child’s condition did not improve. Faced with severe and worrying symptoms, the medical team decided to move forward with a microbiota transplant after receiving authorization from the National Transplant Center.
Following two microbiota infusions, the child’s symptoms immediately regressed, and he was discharged from the hospital, able to return home with his family. The news was announced in a press conference by the Polyclinic in Bologna.
The successful double transplant offers hope for other pediatric patients with similar conditions, and the case has garnered attention in the medical community. The full article can be read on ANSA.it.