Imagine you’re a new parent and your two-month-old starts experiencing some bizarre symptoms.
Along with his high fever, his skin turns red and starts peeling at an alarming rate. Multiple infections follow; the next as soon as the preceding one clears up. The diarrhea is endless….
In an attempt to calm your fears, you joke that maybe that’s the only normal part with a new baby.
Of course, you know something isn’t right; the doctors just can’t figure out exactly what’s wrong.
This is the story of Keith Tay and Jace Lee, whose son Donovan, was eventually diagnosed with Omenn syndrome, a form of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).
Like other forms of immunodeficiency, Omenn syndrome is the result of genetic mutations that leave patients susceptible to infection. Without early detection and treatment, it can be fatal.
Fortunately for Keith, Jace, and Donovan, doctors were able to narrow down the culprit and get it taken care of.
What makes that remarkable is that Donovan’s case was the first known case of Omenn syndrome in Singapore.
Now, it’s also the first case in Singapore that’s also been successfully cured with a stem-cell transplant. Specifically, Donovan had a transplant of stem-cells harvested from his umbilical cord blood.
On July 10, 2016, Donovan turned two years old. His parents now describe him as “very sociable” despite the fact that he was “a bubble boy for so long.”
For more on cord blood transplants, click here.
