Ghaziabad: This Raksha Bandhan, the thread binding Preeti Varshney to her brother came not from a rakhi, but from his blood-forming stem cells.Her brother Yogesh flew in from the Philippines after doctors found him to be a perfect match for his sister, who was battling acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer.Preeti (48), an Indirapuram resident and mother of two, had already fought breast cancer. She also has Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare inherited genetic condition that increases the risk of developing multiple cancers. When she was diagnosed with AML, doctors at Max Hospital in Vaishali recommended an allogeneic stem cell transplant.The procedure involves replacing the patient’s diseased blood-forming system with healthy stem cells from another person. Before the transplant, intensive treatment is given to control or eliminate diseased bone marrow. The donated cells can then rebuild healthy blood formation and help the immune system attack any remaining leukaemia cells.Finding the right donor was the first challenge. Preeti’s daughter and another elder brother were initially identified as half-matched donors. Yogesh, however, was subsequently found to be a perfect match. He recently travelled all the way from the Philippines to undergo the required evaluation and donation process before giving his stem cells to his sister.“An allogeneic stem cell transplant is a specialised procedure in which healthy blood-forming stem cells from a suitable donor are infused into the patient after intensive treatment to control or eliminate the diseased bone marrow,” said Dr Pradeep Kumar, associate director of haemato oncology and bone marrow transplant at Max Hospital.“In conditions such as AML, it can help restore healthy blood formation while providing an important immune effect from donor cells against any remaining leukaemia cells,” he added.Kumar said the procedure required careful donor matching, a detailed pre-transplant evaluation and close monitoring for complications. “In Preeti’s case, the availability of a suitable matched sibling donor was an important factor in enabling us to proceed with this advanced treatment option,” he added.Unlike blood transfusion, a stem cell transplant effectively rebuilds the patient’s blood-forming system. A closely matched sibling can reduce some transplant-related risks, though the treatment remains complex and requires prolonged monitoring.The transplant was successfully performed using Yogesh’s donated stem cells. Preeti has recovered from the procedure, while Yogesh has returned to the Philippines and resumed work.“The transplant has added a deeply personal dimension to Raksha Bandhan. This year, I could travel across countries to donate my stem cells to my sister. I pray for her healthy recovery,” the brother said.
