There are those who say that a brother is the best gift you can give a child, and I can not agree more, especially when I see news like this.
Michael Pownall, a four-year-old boy from Philadelphia, is a true superhero. He will donate his bone marrow to save the life of his four-month-old twin brothers, Santino and Giovanni, born with a rare genetic condition called chronic granulomatous disease.
The disease with which babies were born is a chronic and inherited disease that affects one in five hundred thousand newborns, and characterized in that certain cells of the immune system do not work properly.
This causes those affected to be extremely susceptible to serious bacterial infections, so the twins have had to remain admitted to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia since they were born in October.
"I will save my little brothers"
AMAZING! Michael is donating bone marrow to his 4-month-old twin brothers Since Michael and his family appeared on # FOX29GoodDay this morning, their GoFundMe has raised $ 10,000! How you can help: //t.co/KmBUgiK3jd pic.twitter.com/bPpayqB9ZB
- FOX 29 (@ FOX29philly) February 23, 2018
A bone marrow transplant It is your only hope, but the process is often complicated and, most importantly, a carefully selected compatible donor is needed.
Despite his young age, it was Michael himself who offered to perform the necessary compatibility tests. "He voluntarily gave his arm to the nurses for a blood test. They couldn't believe how brave he is. And in fact, he is." Since knowing the results of the tests, Michael has not tired of repeating: "I am a real-life superhero, I will save my little brothers", his mother tells Fox News.
He could have had a more fearful reaction to the intervention being performed, or feel intimidated. On the contrary, he is proud to be able to help his brothers, his mother said.
Dominick, the older brother of Michael and the twins, was also born with the same disease, but received a donation from an external donor when he was a baby.
Sibling Compatibility
Bone marrow donation is painless and as simple as blood donation. The diseased bone marrow is replaced with healthy tissue, usually stem cells found in the donor's blood.
The protocol that is usually followed in these cases, before going to look for an anonymous donor, if the patient has siblings look first if these are compatible, since they may have inherited the same genetic material from their parents.
With four years, maybe he is still too small to become aware of the importance of his gesture, but it is certainly a beautiful story that the family will keep forever in his memory.
Via | Parents
More information | GoFoundMe
In Babies and more | A child with cancer finds in his sister a compatible donor and they live together the moment of the transplant through Facetime, a baby is born that will cure the serious and rare disease of his older brother
