Prof. Dragan Bobev, Director of the Children's Oncohematology Hospital
I am proud to be a pupil of the Bulgarian pediatric school

In the Children's Oncohematology Clinic with Tsaritsa Joanna University Hospital in Sofia the first unique bone marrow transplantation in Bulgaria was performed. Donor for the 10-year-old Simona suffering from leukemia was her 18-month-old sister. The operation was made by a team of young specialists under the guidance of Prof. Dragan Bobev.

Prof. Bobev has an enviable professional biography. He has a 44-year-long service as pediatrician and specialist in children's hematology and oncology. He graduated the Medical University in Sofia. In 1986 he became Doctor of Medicine. Since 1990 he has been head of the Children's Oncohematology Clinic with Tsaritsa Joanna University Hospital. At present he is Director of the Multiprofiled Hospital for Active Treatment of Children with Malignant Diseases, Sofia.

The professor is among the doyens of pediatrics in Bulgaria. Many times awarded for his teaching at the Medical University, Sofia.

Prof. Bobev, how long did you prepare for the bone marrow transplantation?
Two months. Not only the technical skills had to be improved but also we had to overcome the psychological barrier of the risks.

What was the uniqueness of this operation?
Above all it was the young age of the donor, only 18 months. Transplantations from such young donors, where there is blood-group incompatibility between the donor and the recipient are done very rarely and very cautiously in America, more often in Europe. Still we trusted our colleagues from Germany, who assured us that in spite of the little experience of European transplantology we can do the transplantation under certain conditions without expectation of side effects.

Was it hard to persuade Simona's parents for the operation?
On the contrary, they showed understanding, courage and helped us. They knew the risk but together we reached consensus. And we presented it to the ethics committee. The committee permitted the transplantation despite the young age of the donor. In such operations there is no danger for the donor. The recuperation of the extracted bone marrow, 200 ml in this case, takes a few days.

How is Simona feeling at the moment?
She is in good health, there are no clinical problems. She is isolated in a sterile room, with sterilized air, to avoid the hazard of post-transplantation complications. We anticipate the anagraphman, which usually comes between the 15th and 18th day. This is the acceptance of the transplant by the patient's body. But already by some laboratory criteria we can tell that the process has started.

You are the second one in the family who chose pediatrics. You say it was your first love?
My uncle was a professor of children's diseases. He is founder of the pediatric clinic in the former ISUL, where I was for many years director and head of a children's diseases department.