Cancer Care: Ghanim, our first Bone Marrow Transplant patient

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Ghanim, who had leukemia, was our first patient to receive his brother’s stem cells for a successful Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant

Nawaf Mohammed shares his son Ghanim’s leukemia diagnosis story and how a bone marrow transplantation at Sidra Medicine saved his life.

“My son Ghanim was diagnosed with Leukemia at a very young age. At first, we didn’t realize what was wrong with him. We noticed that he was prone to frequent fevers and kept taking him to different clinics for medications.

Because of the frequency of the fevers, coming back almost every two days, we decided to come to Sidra Medicine where we were referred to the Hematology and Oncology department.  I will never forget the day when we were informed about Ghanim’s leukemia diagnosis. It was a day that changed our lives.

Ghanim’s cancer treatment journey was challenging for all of us, however the team at Sidra Medicine was with us every step of the way. They cared for Ghanim not just as a patient, but as one of their own.”

In October 2025, Ghanim became Sidra Medicine’s first patient to undergo an allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT).

Dr. Chiara Cugno, Act. Division Chief of Hematology and Oncology and Director of the Advanced Cell Therapy Core at Sidra Medicine said: “Ghanim had to undergo several key steps to prepare him for the bone marrow transplant. We needed to make sure that his leukemia cells were eradicated and that his brother stem cells engrafted in the new bone marrow providing long term surveillance against his leukemia”.

The first step was placing a central line in Ghanim’s chest to prepare for the delivery of the treatment and cells.

Over the course of a week, Ghanim received total body irradiation and chemotherapy to kill the diseased cells and create room in the bone marrow for the donor cells. Once this was completed, the bone marrow stem cells were harvested from his brother via general anesthesia.

His brother’s cells were transferred to Sidra Medicine’s certified GMP facility where they were processed for infusion back into Ghanim through the central venous line.

After the transfusion, Ghanim was hosted in a protected environment in the HSCT ward to prevent serious and life-threatening infections and monitored closely to ensure the brother’s stem cells found their new home in Ghanim’s body (“engraftment”).

Dr. Chaira continued: “Within a matter of few weeks, the stems cells settled into his bone marrow and started to produce healthy blood cells. After discharge from the hospital, Ghanim was followed up in the Transplant Clinic to early identify possible complications and ensure that the old leukemia cells were definitively defeated. Almost one year after transplant, we can say that Ghanim’s treatment was hailed a success and in one month we will declare him definitively cured from the disease.”

Nawaf continued, “My family and I are forever grateful for the care Nawaf received at Sidra Medicine. The doctors, nurses and entire medical team took exceptional care of my son. They stood by Ghanim and us throughout this journey. I also want to thank the wise leadership of the State of Qatar, and Sidra Medicine in particular for saving my son’s life.”

The HSCT ward at Sidra Medicine was officially inaugurated on 3 June 2025 and is dedicated to treating children with blood disorders, immune system diseases, and genetic conditions.

The HSCT ward is a core part of Sidra Medicine’s HSCT Program, using curative therapies to provide life-saving care and treatment for children with a range of blood diseases and cancers. This includes malignant and non-malignant conditions such as leukemia, lymphoma, thalassemia, sickle cell disease, immune deficiencies, and metabolic disorders. HSCT also known as bone marrow transplant, replaces diseased or damaged bone marrow with healthy stem cells from the patient (autologous) or a donor (allogeneic). Sidra Medicine’s HSCT program is further enhanced by a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-qualified laboratory team operating under the Advanced Cell Therapy Core (ACTC). The ACTC manages the processing and cryopreservation of hematopoietic stem cells. The certified GMP facility is a key enabler in delivering safe and effective cellular therapies including cell processing and cryopreservation to support precision treatments for children with cancer, blood, and immunologic disorders.