Stem Cells of a New Born Baby
Used to Cure Sibling of Genetic Disease
Test Tube Baby Void of Genetic Diseases
Born to Parents with a Genetic Disease
Saad Specialist Hospital (SSH) in Al Khobar has witnessed the birth of a baby born free of any genetic diseases, despite the baby’s Saudi parents being carriers of a genetic disease known as beta thalassaemia. The medical team that performed the operation achieved their success by using the blood stem cells from the umbilical cord of the baby to treat the daughter of the parents, a beta thalassaemia sufferer. Similarities in the siblings’s tissue formation meant that a comprehensive medical plan could be applied for the first time in the Middle East, using the genetic laboratory diagnoses techniques of preimplantation genetic diagnoses (PGD) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).
According to Dr. Ali Al Helany, Manager of the Genetic Diagnostic Laboratory at SSH, beta thalassaemia is the shortage of the protein beta globulin. The condition is one which reduced the production of hemoglobin: the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body. A shortage of hemoglobin in the red blood cells means that the body is unable to carry out some of its normal functions.
Beta thalassaemia is the most widespread disease in the Kingdom, with particular prevalence in the Eastern Province, exceeding an estimated 40% in some parts of the Kingdom.
Beta thalassaemia is a genetic disease that is passed down from parents to their children. The disease is caused by a recessive gene meaning that both parents do not necessarily have to be sufferers of the disease to pass it to their child: they may only be carriers of the disease and may not exhibit any symptoms. If both of a child’s parents are carriers of the disease, the child has a 25% chance of acquiring the condition. If one parent is a carrier of the disease whilst the other is a sufferer, the chances of the child acquiring the disease rises to 50%. It is therefore advisable for a couple to undergo premarital diagnoses which would involve an examination of the blood, together with hemoglobin electrophoresis. These tests would conclude whether either spouse is a carrier of the beta thalassaemia gene.
Dr. Seham Al Akoum, Pregnancy and IVF Consultant at SSH, was a member of the medical team responsible for monitoring the condition of the baby’s mother. He stated that the couple (who were both carriers of beta thalassaemia) had a child who was devoid of the disease after a natural pregnancy, and subsequently had a baby girl who was born a carrier of the disease. As a result, the parents asked for assistance from the medical professionals at SSH. If the mother was to give birth to a baby that was free of beta thalassaemia, the stem cells could be extracted from the baby’s umbilical cord and used to treat the infected sibling. This would relieve their daughter of the disorder and prevent further medical treatment costs (estimated at an annual SR50,000)..
The medical team at SSH suggested using the IVF technique (despite the couple’s ability to conceive naturally) to ensure that an appropriate fetus could be selected for implantation. After the completion of a 48 hour laboratory testing period at SSH, the medical team selected a fetus with the desired qualities and then transplanted it into the mother’s womb on the fifth day of ovulation. Two weeks later, a test was carried out that confirmed the success of the transplant and thus the mother was transferred to the Obstetrics Department at the Hospital.
Dr. Mustafa Hussein, Consultant Pregnancy and Birth Assistant, was a member of the medical team treating the mother at SSH. He remarked that the first three months of the mother’s pregnancy passed without complications, and that the pregnancy lasted for 38 weeks with the mother enjoying a healthy and stable condition.
Taking a blood sample from the newly born baby, it was apparent that he was born with no genetic diseases and that his tissues matched those of his sister. Some blood from the umbilical cord was extracted, placed in a special preserving unit and taken to a specialized medical center outside of the Kingdom. The blood will be kept in this facility until the time comes to treat the couple’s little girl.
Dr. Elias Fadel, Consultant and Head of the Oncology and Hematology Department at SSH, commented on the process of implanting the blood from the umbilical cord into the baby’s sister. He stated that in this case, the type of therapy required would involve replacing the child’s defective bone marrow. The stem cells taken from the umbilical cord could be transplanted to replace the existing, defective bone marrow. This would give the sibling the ability to produce normal blood, thus eradicating the symptoms of beta thalassaemia.
Dr. Fadel refers to the fact that the comprehensive medical plan faced three challenges: the birth of a baby (devoid of all genetic diseases), the selection of a fetus whose tissues match those of the infected sister, and the extraction of stem cells from the umbilical cord and subsequent preservation of them for future use.