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Project Postcard: Cured

Sat 10 Dec 2011
Postcard 25

Baby Le Bao Ngan being fed by Mom, Vu Ngan Ha, 3 ½ days after birth by cesarean section. Baby Ngan is the 3rd infant to receive full treatment from Firefly.

On December 9, 2011, Firefly officially cured its first case of infant jaundice, restoring 3-day-old Le Bao Chan to full health as part of East Meets West Foundation’s one-month clinical trial at National OBGYN Hospital, Hanoi.

Born at a healthy weight of 3700g (8.4 lbs), baby Chan’s only challenge was overcoming jaundice. When he was 2 days old, a doctor identified the tell-tale yellow skin color indicative of jaundice. Jaundice is a symptom of an excess of the chemical bilirubin in the blood. A bilirubin blood test was ordered and confirmed a level of 295 μmol/L, which placed him in the highest risk category for developing permanent defects including brain damage.

Instead of the usual 2-3 days of treatment, Dr. Le Minh Trac determined baby Chan was cured only 17 hours later! “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Dr. Le. 60% of all newborns worldwide suffer from jaundice in the first weeks of life. If left untreated, an estimated 10% of jaundiced newborns would suffer life-long injury. We are so happy Firefly can help!

Until Next Time,
Tim, Elizabeth & Will

Read more about DtM's phototherapy project, Firefly

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