9-Year-Old Saves Twin Sisters Lives By Donating Bone Marrow

A 9-year-old boy named Raj saved his twin sisters by donating his bone marrow. His older twin sisters Swarali and Swaranjali, age 12, were suffering from thalassemia.

Raj Jadhav underwent the painful process of donating his bone marrow to his older twin sisters. Now, his elder sisters are cured of the blood disorder.

Brother Saves Twin Sisters With Bone Marrow Transplant

The family learned that Raj was a 100 percent match for the bone marrow transplant for the twin sisters in January this year. Since then, his father Amit has been preparing him for the procedure. He said, “I told him (Raj) that he would be doing what Superman does if he helped with the procedure. I also told him it would be very painful. It took us six months to arrange funds for the transplants and prepare him mentally.”

By undergoing the procedure to donate blood marrow, Raj saved the life of his sisters and also freed his family from a large financial liability. Raj never broke down in front of his family and only expressed discomfort during the end of the process and recuperation.

The twin sisters, Swarali and Swaranjali were born prematurely at seven months in the Chouk village of Raigad district, Maharashtra. After they turned one, the twins started falling ill. No doctors were able to recognise the issue until after they turned four.

They were diagnosed with the blood disorder thalassemia, the parents also got themselves tested and were diagnosed with thalassemia minor (there is a 25 percent chance of their children getting the disorder).

The family spent a large sum of money on monthly transfusions and iron chelation medicines for the twin sisters. Amit is a contractual worker with a transporter and had to borrow money from relatives. His wife Aparna’s jewellery was sold off to pay the medical bills as well.

The bone marrow transplant took place in August and the twin girls’ bodies have accepted the grafting. They have been visiting the hospital regularly for checkups and post-operative monitoring, which will continue for a year.

According to the pediatric haematologist and senior consultant, Dr Ruchira Misra, nearly 80 percent of the treatment is complete.

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