18-month-old boy becomes Vietnam's youngest bone marrow donor for sister

Hue Central Hospital on Monday discharged four-year-old P.T.M.D. after successfully treating her severe aplastic anemia with bone marrow donated by her toddler brother. The procedure marks the hospital's first successful allogeneic stem cell transplant for the condition.

D. first developed symptoms in February 2026, including anemia and bleeding, and required regular blood and platelet transfusions.

As her granulocyte count fell, she also suffered repeated infections. After undergoing the necessary tests, doctors diagnosed her with idiopathic aplastic anemia.

The condition is dangerous because the bone marrow suddenly stops producing enough of the body's essential blood cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. 

Patients face risks of infection, bleeding and prolonged anemia. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation offers a chance of curing the disease.

After consultation, doctors found that D. had a complete HLA match with her 18-month-old younger brother, who weighed 10 kilograms. 

However, the siblings had different blood types: D. has type O blood, while her brother has type B.

Notably, the donor was just 18 months old and weighed 10 kilograms. The hospital said he is the youngest bone marrow donor in Vietnam.

Faced with the blood-type mismatch, Hue Central Hospital decided to use an immune-tolerance approach, transfusing the donor's blood type into the patient to reduce antibody levels. 

As a result, doctors did not have to separate red blood cells from the stem cell collection bag on the day of the bone marrow harvest, helping preserve the number of stem cells available for the child.

According to the hospital, this was a new technique being implemented at Hue Central Hospital. 

The bone marrow collection from the young donor was carried out with the coordination of multiple medical specialties and was successful.

During the transplant, D. developed several complications. However, with careful preparation, monitoring, and timely treatment, her condition has since stabilized. Her blood cell counts have recovered well, and she no longer depends on blood transfusions.

Hue Central Hospital said it has successfully performed 88 stem cell transplants in children to date. 

For pediatric patients with thalassemia, the hospital has performed 23 allogeneic transplants over the past 24 months, using bone marrow from siblings with a complete 12/12 HLA match.

Also on Monday afternoon, the hospital discharged three children with thalassemia after successful allogeneic stem cell transplants.

They were M.D.K., 3, from Gia Lai, who received a transplant from his 7-year-old sister; B.N.T.V., 13, from Dong Nai, who received a transplant from her 16-year-old sister; and H.A.Q., 6, from Dong Nai, who received a transplant from her 14-year-old sister.

According to the hospital, all three children have recovered their blood cell counts, are in stable condition, and no longer require regular blood transfusions.

Hue Central Hospital has also expanded its transplant facilities, increasing its capacity to perform transplants on up to four pediatric patients at the same time. 

The hospital has also begun implementing haploidentical stem cell transplantation for pediatric patients with thalassemia who do not have a fully HLA-matched donor within their families.