The patient with the team of doctors after undergoing the treatment. — VNA/VNS Photo

THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — A four-year-old patient undergoing a stem cell transplant at Huế National Hospital was discharged on Thursday, marking the first successful procedure of its kind in the central region and Central Highlands.

The patient from Quảng Trị Province had high-risk neuroblastoma which, according to doctors, would be fatal if he did not receive an appropriate and intensive treatment involving high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.

The entire transplant operation took 32 days, performed by a team of doctors from Huế National Hospital with the support from HCM City Blood Transfusion Hospital.

The parents of the child patient said it was a miracle for their family, adding that they are grateful for the efforts of Vietnamese doctors and the Japan-based Niikura Foundation for saving their son.

Phạm Như Hiệp, director of Huế National Hospital, said the hospital is the third medical facility in Việt Nam to successfully perform a stem cell transplant.

The hospital will continue research to provide the treatment and save more child patients with cancer, he said.

Stem cell transplant aims to help a patient get healthy stem cells to replace damaged ones. In preparation for the procedure, the patient will receive high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy in some cases. Once stem cells are infused into the patient’s bloodstream, they enter bone marrow to start forming new, healthy blood cells. — VNS