A two-month-old Pakistani baby has made a dramatic recovery in Abu Dhabi after undergoing an emergency bone marrow transplant to treat a rare congenital immune disorder, doctors at Yas Clinic Khalifa City said.
Baby Ayra was transferred in critical condition after spending weeks in intensive care at another hospital.
She was on a ventilator and suffering from severe chest and bloodstream infections that kept returning despite aggressive treatment. Further tests revealed she had a congenital immunodeficiency, a rare disorder that leaves newborns unable to fight infections.
Her parents told doctors they had previously lost a daughter to a similar undiagnosed condition.
When Ayra arrived in Abu Dhabi, she was battling three simultaneous infections, required blood-pressure medications, and was showing signs of organ stress.
Doctors discovered that her father was a full HLA match, making him a suitable bone marrow donor.
However, Ayra was too unwell to receive the standard chemotherapy normally used to prepare patients for a transplant.
“We had very little time,” said Dr Mansi Sachdev, clinical lead of Paediatric Haematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant.
“The only way to save her life was to perform an urgent bone marrow transplant without chemotherapy. We relied entirely on her father’s healthy cells to fight the infections.”
The high-risk procedure, performed without traditional preparation, was the only option to save her life.
Two months later, doctors say Ayra is breathing independently, feeding well and expected to go home soon. All three viral infections have cleared.
Dr Maysoon Al Karam, chief medical officer, said the case underscores the importance of early diagnosis and coordinated specialist care.
Ayra’s recovery, she said, “shows what timely intervention and careful multidisciplinary management can achieve in extremely fragile patients.”