Health

Ukrainian leukemia patient clings to life thanks to a Turkish donor!

20-year-old Ukrainian Anastasia was diagnosed with leukemia in her country. The young girl, whom the doctors in Ukraine said “maybe live”, held on to life with the marrow of a Turkish donor in Antalya.

Ukrainian Anastasia Varfolomieieva, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in her country and whom doctors say ‘Maybe she will live’, clings to life with the marrow of a Turkish donor in Antalya, where she came for treatment.

Ukrainian Anastasia Varfolomieieva was diagnosed with ALL as a result of the examinations performed at the hospital she applied to on March 10, 2021 due to high fever and sore throat. The young girl, who did not know what ALL was until then and had no idea how to treat it, perceived the seriousness of her illness with the sentence ‘Maybe she will live’ when she witnessed the conversations between her family and doctors.

Anastasia came to Antalya for treatment in November 2021. Prof. from Medical Park Antalya Hospital Complex Hematology Department. Dr. The young girl, who was treated by Bulent Eser and her team, survived on 29 March with the marrow of a 40-year-old Turkish donor. Anastasia, who regained her health after the transplant, thanked her doctors and the Turkish donor.

‘I’m glad we’re in Turkey’

Anastasia’s mother, Olena Varfolomieieva (40), had emotional moments while describing her experiences. Varfolomieieva, who explained that they experienced great sadness and cried a lot when they learned about her daughter’s illness, said, “We didn’t know anything about the disease at first. Then, when we learned that it can be treated with a bone marrow transplant, we came to Antalya as a result of our research. Many thanks to our doctors. Glad he was treated here. Good thing we’re here,” she said.

‘I WANT TO MEET THE TURKISH DONOR ONE DAY’

Olena Varfolomieieva, who noted that she wanted to meet the Turkish donor who brought her daughter back to health, said, “I want to thank that donor very much.”

Olena Varfolomieieva, who said that they loved Turkey, where they came for the first time, and that Turkish people are very helpful and good, thanked everyone very much. Anastasia’s treatment, Prof. Dr. Bulent Eser said, “After arranging his treatment at the beginning, we performed a bone marrow transplant from a suitable donor. The transfer was very successful,” he said.

Reminding that for the bone marrow, the patient’s siblings are checked to see if they are suitable donors, Prof. Dr. Eser said, “If it is not suitable with a sibling, we do non-relative screening. In general, it is a very interesting coincidence, most of our Ukrainian patients are compatible with Turkish donors. We can find a suitable donor for our patients, close to 90 percent. It takes an average of 2 months until a donor is found. “The patient continues to receive his normal treatment. So the patient does not lose any loss due to this period. Anastasia is now in the 6th month of the transplant and we will hopefully send her back to her country in good health. We will continue her follow-ups there as well. When we send her back to her country, our work does not end, one hand will be with her.” spoke.

‘foreigners experience anxiety because they are in a different country’

Specialist Dr. Okan Yayar, on the other hand, stated that foreign patients are worried about their treatment process in Turkey as a different country, adding, “In this case, moral and motivational support is as important as the chemotherapy we give them. Psychological support of these foreign patients is among the duties of the physician. I tried to complete this part,” he said.

Adding that a patient’s recovery is a great happiness for the physician, Yayar stated that getting successful results is the point that motivates them the most.

Ece Nagihan

Hi, I'm Ece. I am a writer for Expat Guide Turkey and I strive to create the best content for you. To contact me, you can send an e-mail to info@expatguideturkey.com. Happy reading!

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