For the first time in Israel and only the second time in the world, bone marrow transplantation was performed at Sheba Medical Center-Tel Hashomer, using cord blood stem cells taken from the newborn sister of a young child diagnosed with Fanconi's Anemia, an incurable genetically inherited disease affecting the body’s organs, and manifesting itself in the destruction of the bone marrow and the development of leukemia.
Sheba’s Pediatric Hemato-oncology Department, headed by Professor Gideon Rechavi, admitted the child who had been diagnosed with Fanconi's Anemia, which also halts the production of blood cells, and patients suffer from failure of the immune system.
The only potential cure for Fanconi’s anemia is accomplished by bone marrow transplantation from a donor. Usually, bone marrow must be obtained from a family member, as it is very difficult to find a compatible unrelated donor. In this case, however, no family member was found to be a suitable match.
The parents faced a difficult decision. They wanted another child, and they wanted desperately to save this child. After consultation with physicians, the parents made a decision: to bring another healthy child into the world, in the hope that this child would provide the means to save their first-born child. (Statistically, their chances of accomplishing this unassisted were three in sixteen.)
The technology involved two stages:
- In-vitro fertilization, in which eggs were removed from the mother and fertilized with the husband’s sperm in an artificial laboratory environment.
- When the fertilized eggs began to develop and the cells began to divide, one cell was removed from several embryos and tested for a compatible donor that had to meet two criteria: it should not carry the genetic disorder, and its tissue had to be a match for that of the sick child.
The resulting fetus developed normally within the mother's womb. During delivery, members of the Cord Blood Transplant Unit collected umbilical cord blood from the newborn containing stem cells that could replace adult bone marrow. The umbilical cord blood was stored in Sheba Medical Center’s Cord Stem Cell Blood Bank. The child underwent chemotherapy at the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation Department in Sheba’s new Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, and the stem cells were then implanted by IV injection.
Because of the complexity of the technology, a number of Sheba teams from various areas of clinical expertise took part in the process. Professor Gideon Rechavi, head of the Pediatric Hemato-oncology Department, organized the entire process in cooperation with Professor Arnon Nagler, head of the Cord Stem Cell Blood Bank; and with Dr. Amos Toren, head of the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and acting head of the Department of Pediatric Hemato-oncology. Tissue classification of the child, his family members and the fetus was performed in the Tissue Classification Unit, headed by Dr. Ron Levental.
Dr. Rozenwaks, from Cornell University in New York, and Dr. Hughes, from Wein University in Detroit, worked in collaboration with the Sheba teams throughout this complicated process.
The transplantation was completed successfully, and the child’s new bone marrow functions normally four months after the transplantation was performed. Although it is still too early to be certain that the transplant is a complete success, and that a cure has been achieved, this is without a doubt an achievement of immense proportion in Israel, and for medical science the world over.
Sheba Medical Center-Tel Hashomer is the largest and most comprehensive hospital and research facility in Israel, and in the entire Middle East. The Center’s 150-acre campus on the edge of Tel Aviv has 1,900 beds and serves over 800,000 patients annually from Israel and neighboring countries, including civilians, soldiers and visitors.
Sheba is the teaching facility for Tel Aviv University's Medical School and conducts trials and research with the Weizmann Institute of Science. For over 50 years, Sheba's core philosophy remains the same: to extend the finest medical treatment, rehabilitation, care and compassion to all—regardless of race, religion or nationality.
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