Girl donates bone marrow to cure big sister of sickle cell disease

Sara Tabbah might be younger but she really is her sister’s keeper. The six-year-old donated her bone marrow to big sister Alyssar to help cure her of a painful genetic condition called sickle cell disease — forging a special bond between the girls.

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On the day Sara Tabbah was to donate her bone marrow to her big sister Alyssar she skipped through the hospital, happy and excited and she was still smiling when the anaesthetist placed the gas mask over her face.

Next door, 11-year-old Alyssar was waiting on six-year-old Sara’s bone marrow donation with the hope it would cure her sickle cell disease.

A bone-marrow transplant is the only way to cure the disorder and could have been scary for a young child but Sara could not wait to give the gift of sisterly love.

Alyssar Tabbah is recovering well after her younger sister Sara (left) donated her bone marrow to cure her of sickle cell disease. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“She was singing and skipping along and dragging her suitcase down the corridor and I thought this can’t last (but) we went through and into theatre and she was still so happy and the anaesthetist said she was the happiest child he’d ever put to sleep,” mum Najah said.

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Bone marrow extraction involves inserting a needle deep into the bone.

“Even after she came out she was walking around and she just made it so easy, I think if she cried or struggled, it would have been a lot harder on us as parents, but she was just so easy, it was a relief,” Ms Tabbah said.

Alyssar with her little sister Sara, who donated her bone marrow to save her older sister’s life.

The sisters were close before the bone marrow transplant but have developed a more special bond, their mother says.

The Greenacre mum said her two girls were now closer than ever.

“They have always had a good bond, but Alyssar is more patient with Sara now and they are very close,” she said.

“Usually 11-year-olds don’t want to hang out with six-year-olds but they love doing TikToks together, jump into each other’s beds, they have an amazing bond, it’s really sweet.”

The transplant was a success and, despite having side effects from the pre-transplant chemotherapy, Alyssar’s condition has improved.

After seven months off school, she was able to return for a few hours a day.

“I’m very better,” Alyssar said.

“I used to have pain and had to go to hospital, so now I’m thankful and I love her.”

Sara said the bone marrow donation did not hurt and was worth it.

“So I can make her feel better,” Sara said.

Alyssar suffers from a genetic condition called sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that deforms red blood cells into the shape of a sickle, or crescent. These cells can block blood flow, become sticky and stick to bones leading to episodes of intense pain (called pain crises), infections and delayed growth.

It can also have long-term effects on organs like spleen, lungs and kidneys.

In 2017, Alyssar’s condition forced her in and out of hospital all year.

“It was just crisis after crisis and it felt like we were at the hospital all year,” Ms Tabbah said.

Wassim and Najah Tabbah with daughters Alyssar and Sara at Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Alyssar was also becoming dependent on a drug aimed at stopping the pain crises but it left her at high risk of stroke. The only hope to end her misery was a bone-marrow transplant.

“Alyssar has an older brother and Sara and my son said to me: ‘I hope I’m a match so Sara doesn’t have to do it’ because Sara is so sensitive, she cries with a paper cut,” Ms Tabbah said.

“She was a perfect match and we explained it to her, as much as you can to a five-year-old, we asked: ‘Are you happy to do this’ and she was: ‘Yeah’ but she didn’t really understand.

“Sara played on it a bit and if Alyssar was doing something she didn’t like she’d say: ‘Alyssar if you do that I won’t give you my bone marrow’, so she became all high and mighty and teased Aly with it.”

The blood testing before the transplant was harder than the actual transplant because Sara was scared of the needle but the play therapist at the Sydney Children’s Hospital took her mind off it.

“They would talk and sing and play and get her mind off it, so slowly, slowly, the last blood test she had she didn’t cry, and she was so proud of herself,” she said.

Alyssar and Sara Tabbah want to help raise money for the children’s hospitals. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The sisters are supporting the Light Up Christmas Appeal to help sick kids from the Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

“Sara’s gift to her big sister Alyssar is incredibly inspiring and is what the festive season is truly about – the gift of hope. In the lead-up to Christmas, we can all give the gift of hope to sick kids and their families by supporting our new Light Up Christmas Appeal,” Nicola Stokes, from the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation said.

Every dollar really does count towards making a big difference at this special time of year

For more information, go to lightupchristmas.org.au

Originally published as Girl donates bone marrow to cure big sister of sickle cell disease