Doctors at a leading Army hospital here have successfully conducted a "high-risk" bone marrow transplant, giving a new lease of life to a seven-year-old child diagnosed with a "rare disorder".

The procedure was recently performed at Army Hospital (Research & Referral) , the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday, and termed it an "extraordinary medical achievement".

The hospital authorities have claimed that this procedure was the "first such transplant for this immunodeficiency in India".

Doctors in the department of hematology and stem cell transplantation at the hospital have "successfully conducted a life-saving bone marrow transplant (commonly known as BMT) for a child diagnosed with a rare primary immunodeficiency disorder," it said.

The "groundbreaking procedure", performed on Sushant Paudel, has opened new doors of hope for children and families facing similar challenges, it said.

Paudel, son of Sepoy Pradip Paudel, was "diagnosed with ARPC1b, a very rare form of immunodeficiency at age one, a condition that severely compromised his immune system making him prone to repeated life-threatening infections and other complications," the statement said.

The patient was referred to the hospital six months ago "but did not have an HLA matched sibling donor", the doctors said.

"The hematology team at Army Hospital (R&R), embarked on an arduous journey to find a suitable donor and orchestrate a meticulously planned bone marrow transplant," the statement said.

"The Matched Unrelated Donor (MUD) transplant, carried out on November 30 involved harvesting healthy stem cells from an HLA compatible donor, which in this case was a voluntary unrelated donor and infusing them into Sushant Paudel's bloodstream, after his own defective cells were destroyed by a very high dose of chemotherapy," it said.

The procedure aimed to replace the defective immune cells with healthy ones, offering a renewed chance at a healthy and vibrant life, the doctors said.

Brig Rajan Kapoor, head of the hematology department, expressed profound joy and relief at the success of the transplant.

"Sushant Paudel's journey has been nothing short of miraculous. This achievement is a testament to the collaborative efforts of our dedicated medical team, the unwavering support of Sushant's family, and the generosity of the donor. To the best of our knowledge this is first such transplant for this immunodeficiency in India," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

Col Rajiv Kumar, senior advisor in the hematology department said "only one in five patients have a sibling with a full HLA match. The availability of HLA matched unrelated donor stem cells, sourced in this patient from DATRI, is truly a game-changer for such patients suffering from life threatening immunodeficiency disorder.

Lt Col Sanjeev Khera, pediatric H Hematologist at the hospital said "the presence of multiple active infections at the time of the transplant made this a very challenging and a high-risk transplant".

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