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Brave boy helps Taiwan make medical history

Lu Pei-chieh and his parents yesterday cut a cake upon his discharge from the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei after undergoing a bone-marrow transplant. ALD, or Adrenoleukodystrophy, is a genetic disorder affecting boys. PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

Lu Pei-chieh (呂沛頡), a nine-year-old boy who suffered from a rare disorder called ALD (Adrenoleuk-odystrophy, 腎上腺腦白質硬化症) and chose to get medical treatment in Taiwan rather than abroad, has undergone successful surgery and was discharged from hospital yesterday.

He went through a complicated surgical process on June 11 this year. This was the first time that a bone-marrow transplant using marrow from a donor not related to the patient was performed in Taiwan.

"Lu was very brave during the painful medical treatment. In order to destroy his original bone marrow, we had to use chemical processes on him," Lin Kai-shin (林凱信), administrator of the Department of Pediatrics Hematology Oncology of the National Taiwan University Hospital told a press conference yesterday.

To protect his bladder from possible harm it was necessary to install a urinary catheter, which represents great suffering for a child, but Lu overcame his fears, according to Lin.

"He was very lucky to be treated at a critical moment and what was crucial was that completely compatible bone-marrow stem cells were acquired from kind-hearted donors," he said.

Although fevers, cholecystitis and cytomegalovirus infections occurred right after the operation, Lu was now able to eat by himself and take medicine without injections, Lin said.

His IQ remains unchanged from before the transplant, which means his brain is in a stable condition and medication to prevent rejection of the transplanted bone marrow works well, Lin said.

According to the medical team, Lu has to take anti-rejection medication for a further nine to 12 months as well as adrenal corticosteroid until his adrenal gland functions normally again.

Lu, still wearing a mask and cap, looked a little tired but merrily showed a thumbs-up sign in front of cameras at the press conference before cutting a cake to celebrate his new lease on life.

His father thanked the medical team, the Stem Cell Center of Tzu-chi (慈濟), the Department of Health and the public and said he hopes the pain his son has endured would one day be just a faint memory, and that his boy would now be able to carry on with his life in the same manner as any normal child.
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