Robbie recovers after transplant
Although he is very tired and sleeps most of the time, he is, as always, cheerful and positive.
ROBBIE Eddles, a Clifton College learner who was diagnosed with leukaemia for the third time early this year and is valiantly fighting the illness, is recovering following a recent transplant.
Robbie’s aunt, Kerry Moller, who has been hosting bone marrow donor drives throughout the country to find him a donor match, said it has been around seven weeks since his transplant and he is doing well.
“Robbie’s bloods are improving slowly but surely and five weeks post transplant he was allowed to leave the hospital to stay in a rented apartment near the hospital in Pretoria. He then went back in for a bone marrow biopsy which shows that there is no residual trace of leukaemia which is absolutely incredible! Blood cell counts are up and down as they try and wean him off the donor anti-rejection drugs but overall he is doing incredibly well! He has to stay close to the hospital and in isolation, so no visitors or outings, for 100 days with weekly blood tests and check ups. He and his mum will be there for quite a lot longer, although he is dying to get back to his friends and home in Durban!” she said.
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She said although he is very tired and sleeps most of the time, he is, as always, cheerful and positive.
“He is such an incredible boy!” she said.
Robbie travelled to Israel for treatment called CAR-T Therapy, in March.
At Mount Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv, the T-cells, which are sick and leukaemic, were removed from his body and genetically engineered to become non-leukaemic fighter cells.
They were reintroduced into his body on 13 April. He and his mum then moved to Pretoria for Robbie to undergo radiation before the Haploid transplant, a stem cell transplant which involves matching a patient’s tissue type with that of a related or unrelated donor.
She urged the community to become a #Robbieswarrior and contact the South African Bone Marrow Registry to sign up as a donor. Visit: www.sabmr.co.za.
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