Yas Clinic and ADSCC treat 2-year-old with rare immune disorder in Abu Dhabi

Yas Clinic Khalifa City and Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center treated a 2-year-old child with Hyper-IgM Syndrome through an urgent bone marrow transplant under the Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant Programme, according to Emirates News Agency on 24 September 2026.

The operating question for UAE providers is practical. Dubai paediatric clinics licensed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Abu Dhabi providers regulated by the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH), and northern emirates providers overseen by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) need a clear escalation route for infants with recurrent severe infections, failure to thrive, unusual skin disease or repeated admissions. For insurers, the case points to earlier pre-authorisation decisions for genetic testing, HLA typing, donor search and tertiary referral.

What happened in Abu Dhabi

WAM said the child had Hyper-IgM Syndrome, a group of inherited immune deficiencies that impairs normal antibody response and exposes children to recurrent infections. The transplant was reported as successful, with donor cells beginning to engraft and the child’s condition improving with no sign of active infection.

Maysoon Al Karam, Chief Medical Officer at Yas Clinic Khalifa City, said the case required specialised expertise, infrastructure and rapid response when the child’s condition changed. Mansi Sachdev, Consultant in Paediatric Haematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, was named by WAM as the treating physician. WAM reported that multidisciplinary teams stabilised the child, managed complications and prepared him for transplantation.

The case sits inside a recognised Abu Dhabi service line. DOH recognised ADSCC as a Centre of Excellence in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and its own Centre of Excellence page lists ADSCC for that category. DOH also states that patients who need Centre of Excellence treatment are referred by a clinician, rather than self-selecting the pathway.

Why clinics and insurers should care

For Dubai operators, the first action is a protocol issue. A DHA-licensed paediatric clinic does not need to run a transplant programme to reduce risk. It needs documented red flags, fast immunology referral, laboratory escalation and a family script that explains why the child may need tertiary assessment outside the clinic’s normal network.

For Abu Dhabi operators, the issue is referral quality. DOH’s Centre of Excellence framework is built around complex procedures that require concentrated expertise, multidisciplinary staffing and outcome review. That makes documentation important. A weak referral can delay authorisation when the case needs genetic testing, infection control, donor work-up and transplant assessment.

For CFOs and insurance teams, the financial lesson is that public tariffs for paediatric bone marrow transplant episodes are not posted in a simple consumer price list by DHA, DOH or MOHAP. The number that matters is the payer-approved episode cost. Operators should obtain the amount through the insurer’s pre-authorisation portal and require line items for admission, isolation room, HLA typing, donor testing, conditioning therapy, cell processing, pharmacy, blood products, intensive care and post-transplant follow-up.

• Eligibility: clinician referral, diagnosis confirmation and transplant-team assessment, according to DOH’s Centre of Excellence referral guidance.
• Regulator: DHA for Dubai, DOH for Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and MOHAP for Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain.
• Insurer action: check network status and written pre-authorisation with Daman, Thiqa or Sukoon only where the patient’s policy names that payer.
• Patient action: ask for a written referral summary, infection history, growth chart, vaccine record, immunoglobulin profile and genetic-test results.

What changes for UAE paediatrics

The case adds another local proof point for complex paediatric transplant care in Abu Dhabi. It does not mean every child with recurrent infection needs transplant assessment. It does mean paediatricians should treat repeated severe infections in the first years of life as a systems problem, with escalation thresholds written into the clinic’s operating manual.

Dubai clinics should audit whether their paediatric workflows include immunodeficiency red flags, transfer criteria and insurer escalation contacts. Abu Dhabi clinics should know the DOH Centre of Excellence route for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Northern emirates clinics should confirm MOHAP-licensed referral options and cross-emirate payer rules before a child reaches crisis care.

Families will still start with a general paediatrician, not a transplant unit. That makes discoverability part of care. Operators and patients can use the UAE Open Healthcare Directory, which lists 12,390+ licensed providers across all seven emirates, to find licensed paediatrics providers and compare location, regulator, contact details and insurance information.