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Rakhi of Life: Perfect Match Donor Saves Sister's Life
29 Aug
Summary
- Brother donated stem cells to his sister fighting leukemia.
- The donor was a perfect genetic match, traveling from the Philippines.
- The transplant successfully rebuilt the sister's blood-forming system.
This Raksha Bandhan held profound significance for Preeti Varshney, as her brother Yogesh provided the life-saving gift of stem cells. Preeti, a 48-year-old mother of two, was battling acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and had previously fought breast cancer, also managing Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Her brother Yogesh traveled from the Philippines after being identified as a perfect genetic match for the necessary allogeneic stem cell transplant.
This specialized procedure involves replacing a patient's diseased blood-forming system with healthy donor stem cells. Intensive treatment is administered beforehand to control the diseased bone marrow. The donated cells then work to rebuild healthy blood formation and bolster the immune system against remaining cancer cells. While other family members were identified as partial matches, Yogesh's perfect compatibility was crucial for the treatment to proceed.
The transplant, performed at Max Hospital in Vaishali, was successful. Preeti is recovering from the procedure, and Yogesh has returned to the Philippines. The event has transformed Raksha Bandhan into a deeply personal celebration of life and sibling devotion, transcending borders to offer a chance at recovery.
