As 14-year-old Faith Brown walked through the pediatric ward with her family for the last time, she was greeted with bubbles and noises from energetic doctors, nurses and staff.
Faith had one last thing to do before leaving UC Davis Children's Hospital. I had to ring the bell.
A brass bell hangs on the wall in the unit's hallway. Patients ring when their cancer or transplant treatment is complete. In Faith's case, it was a stem cell transplant to treat a type of leukemia.
The nurse held a banner that read, “Good luck!” It was signed by her care team. Another sign read, “We are so proud of you.”
Faith grabbed the rope and rang the bell over and over with a bright sound.
Faith's mother, Angie Evans, shouted, “Here's the best feeling in the world, so hurray!” to loud applause and cheers.
Reinvigorating pediatric stem cell transplant program
This moment was made possible by the reinvigorated UC Davis Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant (also known as bone marrow transplant) program. UC Davis Health is the only provider of this specialized service for children in the Sacramento region.
The organization is led by Lisa Madden, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist at the University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, with expertise in the fields of stem cell transplantation and cell therapy.
“This is an exciting time in the field of stem cell transplantation. We are constantly expanding the diseases for which we can offer transplants, and in some cases using treatments that are less toxic for patients,” Madden said. “Stem cell transplants are life-saving procedures. In the case of cancer, this is more immediately apparent. However, stem cell transplants are a life-saving procedure that can lead to slower progression to organ failure, shorten lifespan, and often be painful.” It can also be used to treat sexually transmitted diseases. Diseases that fall into this category include sickle cell disease, thalassemia, These include some metabolic diseases, such as Hurler syndrome, in which patients do not survive past childhood, and some immune diseases, in which patients are continually exposed to infections, which can be cured and require blood transfusions. They won't have to come to the clinic as often. It can really change their lives.”
Diseases and conditions that can be cured with stem cell transplants include:
Stem cell transplant offers a lifeline
In Faith's case, she was diagnosed with: acute myeloid leukemiaA type of high-risk cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, it occurred in early 2024. She continued chemotherapy for six months, during which time she had to be hospitalized for treatment.
When Faith was offered the opportunity to undergo a stem cell transplant, her family knew it was a lifeline for their daughter and they couldn't turn it down.
“Through leukemia research, we knew she had the best chance of survival. allogeneic It’s a (donor) transplant,” Madden said.
In July, Madden performed a stem cell transplant on Faith. During the surgery, Madden replaced damaged or diseased bone marrow cells with healthy stem cells from a volunteer donor, in this case Faith's brother. Faith was closely monitored by her hospital care team for any post-surgery side effects or complications until she was given the green light to leave the hospital.
Marcio Margorowkin, chief of pediatric hematology-oncology at UC Davis Health, said he is proud to have these life-saving treatments available to children and families in Sacramento.
“Our children can now benefit from these procedures in a setting close to home, and we hope this will ease the burden on many families in our region,” said Margoloukin. he said.
Margorowkin also added that the pediatric stem cell transplant program benefits from the expertise and resources developed by UC Davis Health's Adult Stem Cell Transplant and UC Davis Health colleagues' regenerative therapy teams. This will soon allow us to offer cell and gene therapy to children in the region.
“We are assembling a world-class team that is committed to providing exceptional care to every patient,” said Margorowkin.
