Greek teen’s marrow to be transplanted to Turkish kid

ISTANBUL

A stem cell found for a three-year-old leukemia patient waiting for transplantation in the southern province of Adana was brought to Turkey from Greece as a result of the efforts of the Health Ministry.

The son of the Şengezer couple living in Adana, Kuzey Deniz, was hospitalized last year after sudden fever.

When it turned out that Kuzey was caught with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, the family learned that the only remedy for their son’s disease, who had received chemotherapy, was stem cell transplantation.

As a result of researches, it has been determined that the marrow of a young person, named Andreas, living in Greece is 90 percent compatible with Kuzey’s.

However, the cancellation of international flights due to the coronavirus outbreak also caused the cancellation of the transplant.

Andreas’ marrow was brought to Istanbul by road upon the initiatives of the Health Ministry and Istanbul University Stem Cell Bank.

If Andreas’ tests for COVID-19 come out negative, then the planned marrow transplant to Kuzey Deniz Şengezer will be performed.