Awaiting a life-saving transplant: "I want to go to graduation and start secondary school"

BarcelonaKevin will turn 12 in July, but he seems older when he speaks clearly about the illness he has been suffering from for a few months. Last February, he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare condition in which red bone marrow disappears and red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are no longer produced. He needs a bone marrow transplant. So far, they haven't found a donor, and the child has started treatment at Vall d'Hebron Hospital, although they will still have to wait a few weeks to see how he responds.

Kevin is one of the 400 children who have received care in the new pediatric and adolescent oncohematology area of Vall d'Hebron Hospital, which became operational last September. This project doubles the previous space, reaching 2,646 square meters, with the "most innovative" technology, according to the institution.

In the hospital room, Kevin distracts himself by building Star Wars Legos – he has a large collection decorating the hospital room – playing cards with volunteers who make his stay more entertaining, studying with a private tutor, and dreaming of all the things he will do once he is discharged. "When I grow up, I would like to donate blood and also volunteer," he says. If he is feeling well, Kevin explains, the doctor told him he will be allowed to attend his 6th-grade graduation and will be able to see his friends, whom he misses a lot. Kevin and his family live in Reus; he hasn't seen them for months. "I'm really looking forward to going to graduation and starting secondary school," says the boy.

Since the pediatric and adolescent oncohematology area became operational, a total of 72 hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT) and CAR-T therapies have been performed. The average length of stay is 10 days. In Kevin and his family's case, however, they have been there for months. He is receiving immunosuppressive treatment aimed at reversing the immune system failure caused by the illness. His father, Emil, explains that it is still too early to know if it will work or not, as it hasn't even been a month since they started administering it. "For now, he tolerates it well, and we trust the doctors and God for everything to go well and for him to recover," says the hopeful father, awaiting a bone marrow donor compatible with his son.

"A home"

For a few months now, children and adolescents have had 12 individual rooms for boys and girls, 8 for young adults, and 9 protected environment rooms for hematopoietic transplant. They also have an outdoor terrace and common areas for leisure and rest. According to the hospital institution, the design is the result of a co-creation process by patients, families, and professionals. In this regard, the managing director of the Vall d'Hebron Hospital, Albert Salazar, has highlighted the "brutal and spectacular change" that the new facilities represent.

The expansion of the service has cost 7.4 million euros and has been funded 100% by the Fundación Aladina, Fundació Small, and Fundació Albert Bosch. In fact, the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, inaugurated the new area this Monday, advocating for the importance of public-private collaboration, as well as the importance of having a "cutting-edge, top-level healthcare system" to consolidate Catalan and Spanish society. Illa has highlighted that the hospital medical space has been turned into "almost a home".

The president emphasized that the new facilities will make people feel "at home," with "little touches" that facilitate the stay for families and patients. On behalf of the three foundations that have promoted the project, the vice-president of Fundació Small, Laura Lucaya, assured that with the expansion of the unit they wanted a "human" space, which conveyed hope and was bright. She also stated that they wished they could prevent children and young people from having to go through this experience, but that they seek to improve it with "the closest thing to being at home".