After having premarital screening tests, Ayla and Ali Duran were told that they were both Mediterranean Anemia carriers. The couple, caught up in the excitement of getting married, forgot this warning and had a baby girl. Shortly after she was born, little Ayten began to have symptoms and was diagnosed with Mediterranean anemia. While her mother, Ayla Duran, said, "I felt a lot of guilt," baby Ayten experienced a first in Turkey. Her father, Ali Duran, who was a 100% compatible donor for his daughter, contracted coronavirus shortly before the transplant. At the doctors' initiative, a haploidentical, or semi-compatible, donor transplant was performed for the first time in Turkey for Mediterranean anemia.
FIRST RESULTS ARE POSITIVE
Prof. Dr. Barış Malbora, a Pediatric Hematology Specialist at Yeni Yüzyıl University Gaziosmanpaşa Hospital, gave information about the haploidentical, or semi-compatible, transplant and explained the process: "During his daughter's time in the hospital, the father, Ali Duran, contracted COVID-19. However, we had already started giving chemotherapy to Ayten for the transplant and had to carry it out. So, we sent an urgent letter to the Ministry of Health. The authorities quickly responded and gave us permission to perform the transplant from the mother, who was a semi-compatible donor. According to the results from the first month, the bone marrow seems to have 100% compatibility with the body. If we see the same result after 6 months, Ayten will no longer have any issues related to Mediterranean anemia for the rest of her life.
'TESTS SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY'
Families should take premarital screening tests seriously. When a carrier couple wants to have a baby, the cost of in vitro fertilization is covered by the Social Security Institution (SGK). Also, in these transplant situations, people continue to work. However, perhaps the father would not have contracted the coronavirus if he had not gone to work and had been able to isolate himself. For this reason, I think they should be granted medical leave."
The mother, Ayla Duran, said, "I was very anxious before the transplant, but our doctor made us feel much better. I will be more at ease after we get through the 6-month period."
Source: Hürriyet