Misha is a 4 year old from Saratov, Russia. He is an only child, his parents’ pride and joy. When he was 3 years old, in fall of 2020, he started daycare and was often sick over the winter. When spring came, his parents hoped he would finally be able to get over all the colds. They were awaiting his blood test results, when they received a worrying call from their clinic. Misha’s blood test results showed very high leukocyte count. For his parents, it was hard to believe that a visibly healthy child who had no symptoms, could be seriously ill.

Misha urgently had additional tests. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, very high risk. This type of leukemia requires bone marrow transplant as treatment because of high risk of relapse. But first, Misha needed 4 blocks of high-dose chemotherapy. He tolerated treatment well – both physically and emotionally. Misha smiled for his mom even when he lost his hair.

The next step was bone marrow transplant. Neither of Misha’s parents could donate their stem cells, and it was decided to initiate the search for an unrelated donor. The search takes time, and Misha was sent home for maintenance chemotherapy while the search was underway. In September 2021 Misha had a cycle of chemo at the hospital and then was diagnosed with Covid-19 infection. On October 25th Misha was diagnosed with a very early relapse of leukemia. He began anti-relapse chemo, but his doctors were pessimistic about his chances. Misha’s parents decided to take him to Israel where he can access better range of medicines for leukemia and improve his survival chances. Misha’s family will appreciate any help!