India comes to rescue of Baby Arianna after Kenya 'abandons' her in foreign hospital
Baby Arianna Wairimu.
The Indian government has announced that 14-month-old Baby Arianna Wairimu, who had been stuck at Fortis Memorial Hospital in New Delhi for almost a year, will be returning to Kenya on Wednesday. This is after the infant underwent a high-risk stem cell transplant that saw her beat Pearson Syndrome (PS), a very rare but deadly condition that impacts multiple bodily systems — particularly the bone marrow and pancreas.
The development makes her case the first successful haploidentical bone marrow transplant in India and the seventh in the world, according to the Asian government.
Haploidentical transplants are a type of stem cell procedure used to treat certain blood cancers. It works by using a donor's healthy blood-forming cells to replace a patient's unhealthy ones. The doctors in this case got the healthy cells from Teresa Ndung'u, Arianna’s mother.
India footed the bill for their accommodation and their trip back home. The treatment was catered for through contributions from well-wishers, family and friends.
While making the announcement during the Sanjeevani 2024 Healthcare and Wellness Expo on Tuesday, officials addressing delegates described the success in treating Baby Arianna as a significant medical milestone.
“Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram has achieved a significant medical milestone by successfully treating a 14-month-old Kenyan infant diagnosed with Pearson Syndrome, an exceptionally rare and life-threatening disorder. The prevalence of the ailment is approximately 1 in a million, with only 150 such cases mentioned in medical literature,” the official statement said.
"They performed a stem cell transplant with a thoroughly planned chemotherapy regimen. The patient was discharged in stable condition within 21 days and has been under regular weekly out-patient follow-ups."
Baby Arianna will now be part of a global study that the Indian government will soon embark on with the hope of helping other patients around the world. The infant has also been named a Pearson Syndrome ambassador for the health facility that treated her.
Dr Vikas Dua, Head of Paediatric Haematology at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, said children born with the condition have extremely low survival rates.
"Kids born with the syndrome usually do not survive beyond the first year," he said.
'Abandoned' by Kenyan authorities
In October this year, Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai told Nation.Africa that Baby Arianna was entitled to Sh500,000 in assistance.
He said he had personally instructed health officials handling the case to pay the money immediately after the guarantee of payment (GOP) issued to Fortis Memorial was declined because the now-defunct NHIF owed the facility millions of shillings. Baby Arianna's mother had been paying NHIF contributions religiously for the past 10 years.
Separately, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa had assured that her team would get to the bottom of Baby Arianna's case.
But the help Ms Ndung'u was promised was not forthcoming as the hospital and Kenyan officials did not come to a resolution regarding millions of shillings in outstanding GOPs on previous patients. She recounted the empty promises made by health officials.
"I tried to engage Mr Ibrahim Alio of SHA who contacted us after Nation Media Group highlighted our predicament but he has since gone mute despite promising to honour their GOP and deposit the money. I have also sent about 10 follow-up emails to one Ms Jemimah from SHIF who also reached out to us but a month later, she has not responded," Ms Ndung'u told Nation.Africa at the time.
Now, though the worst is over, Baby Arianna’s family will still have to dig deeper into already stretched resources to ensure she gets the continued care she needs.
“We spent eight million shillings so far for her treatment which was raised by family, friends and well-wishers after Nation consistently highlighted our plight throughout this journey,” Ms Ndung’u told delegates attending the health expo in India.
“We have come this far because of Kenyans of good will. I do not ever wish for any mother to go through what I have been through for almost a year and if it means Arianna’s case is studied extensively to help someone else, we will not refuse,” she said.
“Arianna’s medical kitty details are as follows:
-Paybill: 522533
- Account: 7834867 (Arianna's Medical Fund)
- M-Pesa number: 254720677064 (Teresa Ndung'u - Mother).”
