The first patient in the UAE to undergo a bone-marrow transplant using stem cell technology has told of how the treatment saved his life.

Abdullah Nazir Ahmad Muhammad, an electrician from Pakistan, faced terminal decline when doctors put him forward for the ground breaking treatment.

After he began to vomit blood, the 49-year-old had blood cancer diagnosed in 2018. Doctors said his health had begun to rapidly deteriorate and his only option was to undergo an expensive bone marrow transplant.

"I didnt have money to get a transplant and the UAE sponsored my treatment. I am happy to be first one to undergo this transplant in the UAE. It wouldnt have been able to afford it in Pakistan, said the father-of-four, whose family live in the Khanewal district.

I didnt have money to get a transplant and the UAE sponsored my treatment. I am happy to be first one to undergo this transplant in the UAE

Abdullah Nazir Ahmad Muhammad

Mr Muhammad received his transplant on July 18 at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City with involvement of Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre the facility developing a stem cell treatment for Covid-19 patients.

The transplant procedure will bring hope to cancer patients in the UAE, who can now seek treatment closer to home to remain with family.

Known as regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy promotes the repair of abnormal or injured tissue using stem cells. Doctors can manipulate the cells into the type the patient needs and inject them where repair is necessary. The cells can be taken from a matching donor or harvested from the patient, treated, then reintroduced to the body.

The UAE has began to harness stem cell therapy in recent months to fight the coronavirus but this was the first time it was used in a transplant in the Emirates.

In Mr Muhammeds case, stem calls were harvested from his own blood and were reinjected into him after he underwent a short course of chemotherapy. This is called an autologous bone marrow transplant.

Dr Fatima Al Kaabi, executive director of the Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant Programme, described the treatment as a milestone for the UAE.

"Most of these cases travel abroad so, in the near future, we will be self sufficient and efficient to take care of our own with the highest calibre of medical care and international standards."

Dr Al Kaabi said that, to harvest the cells, Mr Muhammed was injected with a stimulant that prompted the stem cells to leave his bone marrow and enter his blood stream. His blood was drawn using a machine similar to one used in kidney dialysis to separate the plasma containing the stem cells from the blood.

The plasma was safely stored while Mr Muhammed underwent chemotherapy to wipe out the bone marrow and give way to the new cells, she said.

Mr Muhammed was kept in a sterile area for 10 to 15 days to prevent him from catching infections until the stem cells were returned to his body. The reintroduction of cells to his body took about 20 minutes.

Following the successful autologous bone marrow transplant, Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre aims to begin carrying out transplants from related donors.

For now only we are doing autologous transplants, where the patient and donor are the same person, but in the near future we will not only do related transplantation but more complicated ones where donors are not related to the patient, said Dr Yendry Ventura, general manager of the stem cell centre and director of Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant Programme.

Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and the Department of Health Abu Dhabi are working on a stem cell donor registry.

The next transplant is scheduled in a few weeks time with the centre aiming to perform 10 transplants before the related transplant programme and, eventually, a transplant programme for children.

We want to provide the people of UAE a programme that is not only comparable with any other programmes in the rest of the world but also offers customised and personalised treatment," Dr Ventura said.

Mr Muhammed, who has been in hospital since July 8, will be released in a few days and plans to return to Pakistan in October to see his family.

Updated: July 28, 2020 09:05 PM

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UAE's first bone marrow transplant patient tells of life-saving treatment - The National