A little Queensland boy whose fight for life made headlines when his bone marrow donation was bungled has suffered another setback, with the eventual transplant failing to spark his recovery.
Six-year-old Mateoh Eggleton, from the Gold Coast, underwent a stem cell transplant in March in a bid to combat haemolytic anaemia.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Setback for little boy whose health lifeline was left on airport tarmac.
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The operation was meant to happen a month earlier, but the arrival of the bone marrow in Brisbane was delayed when it was left on the tarmac of a US airport for an unknown period of time.
His mother Shalyn Eggleton has told 7NEWS the eventual transplant “hasn’t worked”.
“The haemolysis is still active,” she said.
“At the current time, our only option is to continue with the chemotherapy each week.”
Mateoh was diagnosed in 2019 with chronic granulomatous disorder, which leaves his white blood cells unable to kill certain types of bacteria and fungi.
That was originally cured by a first transplant in 2020 but he was left with haemolytic anaemia and required another transplant this year.
Now that hasn’t worked, and with options in Australia limited, the family has turned to crowdfunding for a potential life-saving treatment for Mateoh at Boston Children’s Hospital in the United States.
“We have reached out to them and there is possible treatment over there for Mateoh, which they have said has been successful in other children and adults,” Shalyn Eggleton said.
“But it’s just trialling that and seeing if it’ll work for Mateoh.”
The family need approximately $360,000 for the intravenous and oral treatment to go ahead in the United States, with the money needing to be paid in advance.
In the meantime, Mateoh’s mum is devastated by the impacts of the chemotherapy on Mateoh.
“Boston’s our goal,” she said.
“Take the tubes away and put some hair on him. Help him have a life and go to school and be a boy.”
– With Sam Payne