The first Thalassemia bone marrow transplant in Vietnam took bone marrow from the mother

On the evening of September 8th, Hue Central Hospital announced that it had successfully performed an allogeneic bone marrow transplant to treat thalassemia (a congenital blood disorder) in a child, using bone marrow from the child's biological mother with an incompatible blood type.

The child's health has now stabilized and they were discharged from the hospital today.

Patient VQC (6 years old, residing in Bac Ninh province) was diagnosed with Beta-Thalassemia (a hereditary blood disorder) at 6 months old and has to be hospitalized for monthly blood transfusions.

The child has been receiving iron chelation therapy since the age of 3. MRI scans of the child's liver showed moderate iron overload.

After being admitted to Hue Central Hospital, the child underwent HLA testing (a test to detect anti-human leukocyte antigens in the blood) and the results showed an HLA match of 11/12 with the biological mother.

The hospital's board of directors held a consultation meeting with various departments and centers within the hospital, as well as experts from Italy, to plan the transplant for the child on August 11th.

This is a special transplant case because the child and the biological mother (bone marrow donor) have incompatible blood types. Previously in Vietnam, cases with blood type incompatibility would involve red blood cell apheresis after collecting bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, and some hospitals would use Rituximab.

For pediatric patients with VQC, doctors at Hue Central Hospital have applied a new technique of immune tolerance by transfusing blood of the donor's blood type into the recipient's body in gradually increasing volumes.

In addition to blood transfusions, the patient also received multiple intravenous fluids and anti-allergy medication.

According to Professor, Doctor Pham Nhu Hiep, Director of Hue Central Hospital, after 4 days of blood transfusion, the child's antibody titer is tested to determine the next step.

If the antibody titer is less than 1/32, the donor's stem cells will be transfused into the recipient's body without red blood cell apheresis. Only when the antibody titer is greater than or equal to 1/32 will red blood cells need to be apheresisd from the stem cell bag.

This method is less expensive and has the advantage of preserving the patient's stem cell count.

This is the third allogeneic thalassemia bone marrow transplant with blood group incompatibility performed at the hospital. It is also the first thalassemia bone marrow transplant in Vietnam performed using marrow taken from the mother.

During the transplant procedure, patient C. experienced complications including infection, bladder hemorrhage, and mild graft-versus-host disease (GFSD) in the skin. Thanks to close monitoring of clinical developments, interdisciplinary collaboration among doctors, and the modern equipment at Hue Central Hospital, the patient's health gradually improved, with platelet and granulocyte counts recovering on days 20 and 24, respectively. After 28 days, patient C. was discharged from the hospital.

Thalassemia is a common inherited hematological disorder, with approximately 2,000-2,500 children in Vietnam diagnosed with a severe form each year. These children require lifelong treatment with blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy, leading to numerous complications affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, endocrine system, bones, and physical and mental development.

Children's lives are intertwined with hospitals, becoming a burden on their families and society.

According to statistics, 20% of siblings in a family have an HLA match. However, only 5% of children will have an HLA match with either their father or mother.

For thalassemia bone marrow transplants using bone marrow from parents, a different conditioning protocol will be used compared to bone marrow from siblings.

Since 2019, Hue Central Hospital has implemented stem cell transplantation techniques in children, starting with transplantation for solid tumors such as high-risk neuroblastoma, metastatic retinoblastoma, and recurrent lymphoma, and later expanding to allogeneic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia.

From September 2024, the hospital officially began implementing stem cell transplantation for the treatment of Thalassemia. This is the first unit in the Central-Central Highlands region, and the second in the whole country, to perform this advanced technique.

To date, the hospital has performed 61 stem cell transplants in children, including 11 allogeneic transplants for children with thalassemia. The hospital is also the first in the country to perform 11 allogeneic transplants for children with thalassemia in just one year. Currently, all the children are healthy and no longer require blood transfusions.

With the increasing demand for bone marrow transplants, in August 2025, the hospital inaugurated two new transplant rooms, currently capable of performing transplants for four pediatric patients simultaneously.

In the near future, the hospital will perform half-match transplantation for children with thalassemia who do not have a complete HLA match with their siblings and parents, expanding the opportunity for healthy living for more thalassemia children, especially in cases where there were previously no curative treatment options, bringing great hope to families and the community.

(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ca-ghep-tuy-thalassemia-dau-tien-o-viet-nam-duoc-lay-tuy-tu-me-post1060650.vnp