Run for a New Life

Mr. Kumko and Mrs. Noknoi Sukwilai from Vientiane, Laos PDR, found out that their first son, “Nong Best”, was diagnosed with a thalassemia which cannot be cured. The treatment for Nong Best involved a regular blood transfusion to prevent the enlarged spleen and a strict food control in every meal. Nong Best cannot move his body too much because it can lead to broken bone. However, both of them never gave up or lost their hope in seeking the way to treat Nong Best. They started searching for treatment information from books and internet. Until one day, they watched a health program on Thai television by chance. The program featured an interview with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Preeda Vanichsetakul about stem cell therapy and the treatment for thalassemia patients. Later, the couple decided their trip to Bangkok to meet Dr. Preeda, when Nong Best was only 2 years old. After consulting with Dr. Preeda, the advice they received was that if the couple were able to have a second child, they would stand a chance of saving their elder son by using stem cells collected from their younger one. If their DNAs match, the stem cell transplant could be done to treat Nong Best (the elder sibling).

After the delivery of the second child and collecting the stem cells, it turned out that the DNAs of their both children perfectly matched. However the treatment was not that easy because the procedure expenses were quite high. To prepare Nong Best for the procedure, Sukwilai family had put their efforts to gather money for 2 years, so Nong Best could undergo the stem cell transplant during the end of May to August 2013, with 95% chance of successful transplant under close supervision of Dr. Preeda.

Cryoviva (Thailand) Ltd. has founded a fund called “Cryoviva Fund for Stem Cell Transplant Patients” and organized the “Run for a New Life” event, which is a charitable walk and run activity to raise funds for the transplant and the subsequent expenses for this family. Today Sukwilai family can have a big smile as Nong Best is completely cured from the disease and is growing up as a healthy boy.