1S-TKI tt83UN TIMES SATURDAY. OCTOBER 23. 1912
Funds to Aid Victims
Baby From Brazil AVDuke Cured Of Rare Disease SToSiywSce
By Janet Pierce Frye
For 9-month old Ua,
it's ,1 new, exciting world
of taste and touch and
sight and sound and
smell. She i finally
ouside . the germ-free
room that has been her
home for the past five
months of her short life.
For her parents, Oscar
and Claudia Costa of
Sao Paulo, Brazil, it's
nothing short - of a
miracle.
Ua has been cured of
a ' rare, fatal disease
known as severe combin
ed immunodeficiency
disease (SCID), a genet it
defect of the body's im
mune system where no
germ-fighting cells arc.
present to fight off even
the most minor infee1
tion.
I.ia was cured by a
bone marrow transplant
from her 7-ycar-old
brother. The transplant
was performed by Drs.
Rebecca Buckley and
Lawrence J. Sindel at
Duke University Medical
Center. Dr. Buckley is
professor of pediatrics
and immunology and
Sindel is a fellow in
pediatric allergy and im
munology. "I.ia was very, very
sick," Mrs. Costa recall
ed. "Our doctor (in
Brazil). Dr. Charles
Naspitz, told us our only
hope was to sec if a hope
marrow transplant-could
be done. He said it
would have to be in the
United States because in
Brazil, there are no
(germ-free) units like
thisv Our doctor knew of
Dr. Buckley's work here.
"We were very lucky.
We only knew her (Dr.
Bucklcv's) .name and
Durham. . N.C. She
answered the phone
herself. I don't know
what would have hap
pcned'if she hadn't been
there that night."
Forty-eight hours
later. following a
20-hour airplane trip
with the ill child and
their other two children.
the Costas arrived in
Durham. ' '
And luck was still with
them when it was
discovered that l.ia's
older brother's bone
marrow was compatible
to hers.
Dr. Buckley said that
although bone marrow
transplants have proved
to be a successful, treat
ment for SCID children,
it is difficult to find a
transplant donor that
matches because there's
only one chance in four
that a brother or sister
will match.
Of more than 20 pa
tients with SCID Dr.
Buckley has treated over
a 17-year period. I .ia was
the first who had a sibl
ing with matching bone
marrow.
The bone marrow cells
were removed from the
hip bones of l.ia's
brother. The center of
the marrow contains
precursors of immune
cells. These were
suspended in a tissue
culture medium and then
infused like a blood
transfusion into I.ia. Dr.
Buckley said.
Once in the body, the
cells should seek out the
sites in the child's body
where the immune cells
are supposed to go, such
as the bone marrow,
spleen and thymus
gland. The transplant
was successful and I.ia
soon began producing
her own white blood
cells. I.ia was treated in
the Clinical Research
Center at Duke, which is
funded by the National
Institutes of Health
(RR30).
Children wih SCID
lack function of both the
major germ-fighting
agents in the blood: an
tibodies produced by
B-cells that originate in
the bone marrow and
T-cells, the while blood
cells produced by the
thymus gland.
"It's a very rare
disease," Dr. Buckley
said. "There are pro-
J
- Q
rrrv V,
DIGNATARIES AT THE 1I6TH OPENING CONVOCATION AT ST. V G.S Members of the
Board of Trustees gathered for a chat with college officials prior to (he 1 16th Formal Opening Convoca
tion held on last week at Saint Augustine's College. Left to right: The Right Reverend Thomas A. Eraser,
Bishop, Diocese of North Carolina, Board of Trustees' member. Dr. Preell R. Robinson, president, Saint
Augustine's College; and The Right Reverend John M. Burgess, chairman. Board of Trustees.
RALEIGH Gover
aor Jim Hunt announced
Thursday, Oct. 14, the
awarding of state grants
,to"32 communities to aid
victims : of domestic
violence. '
The $184,000 will go
to community domestic
violence programs to
fund emergency shelters
and counseling as well as
training for volunteers to
work with the victims.
The funding was ap
propriated by the North
Carolina General
Assembly K " ' through
House Bill 1148 in June
', for one year. This is the
first year that the
Legislature has . ap-'
propriated funds for
these programs.
The YWCA Coalition
for . Battered Women.
Orange-Durham foun
' tics, received a grant
totaling $8,867.09. The
Coalition for Battered
Women is one of 48
similar programs across
the state.
The funds were made
N.C. Council on the
Statds of Women in the
N.C. Department' of Ad
ministration, Grant reci
pients were selected from
among 42 programs re
questing a ' ; total of
$530,000.
"These community
programs are doing an
outstanding job and are
providing needed ser
vices in their com
munities. We want to
he'o them in every way
wt can," Hunt said.
"This funding will help
these local programs to
devote more attention to
those victims who often
have no where to turn,"
Hunt said.
Recently,
proclaimed
10-16 as
.Violence
Gov. Hunt
October
Domestic
Awareness
Week in North Carolina
and urged all-state and
local officials and citizen
volunteers to devote
special attention to the
needs of victims of
domestic violence.
Hooks Signs
bably no more than 20
children born (with
SCID) each year in this
country. It's due to one
or more genetic delects
but wc don't know what
the missing elements arc.
It is a recessive trail and
for a female to have it. it
has to be inherited from
both parents. Willi the
exception of one rare
form of this disease,
there is no way to defect
a carrier.
"There arc about 50
infants and children with
Ihis disease in the United
States who have been
corrected and are living
normal heallhv lives,"
she added. "Two or
three limes that manv
died because thev didn't.
have a bone marrow
donor."
I.ia is now able to fight
off infections like a nor
mal child and is return
ing to her home in
Brail.
"First I had to gel
myself to believe I.ia was
not normal and that look
me awhile," Mrs. Costa
said. "Now I'm havinu a
hard time believing the
opposite that she's
almost normal again. It
scares me a little, to
think of taking her to an
airport and back home.
"But Dr. Buckley says
she can have a normal
life now. I'm just so hap
py she is alive and well."
Teen Problems Workshop Set For Fri ,Sat
"Stress and Conflict:
Understanding and Deal-'
ing with Prcteens and
Teenagers" is the topic
of a Durham Technical
Institute workshop to be
held Friday. October 22,
4:30-6:30 p.m.. and
Saturday, October 23. 8
a.m. -5 p.m.
Designed for teachers
and professionals, who
work with youngvpeople,
the course can be used
for teacher . rcccrti loca
tion credit.
The course will cover
key issues and problems
related to the, intellec
tual, emotional, and
social development of
young people from the
pre-pubcrtal age through
the teen years. Using the
theories of Piagei.
Adlcr, and Fri k son as
guides, the course will
emphasize a teacher's
handling of stresses con
cerning discipline, peer
pressures, sexual issues,
authority rebellion,
depression, and suicidal
concerns, scholastic and
test anxieties, drug abuse
and family discord.
Dusty Staub is' the in
structor for the class.
Staub holds a master's
degree in social work and
is a clinical
psychotherapist.. In addi
tion to his private prac
tice. Staub serves as a
consultant to the
Durham County Mental
Health Association.
Registration for the
class can be completed
by contacting Durham
Tech's Continuing
Fducation Office at
596-9311, ext . 275.
(Continued
The NAACP, by signing
he agreement with EEI
and AGA, he said, ex;
pects to ensure that
blacks get their faif share
of these opportunities.
On the questions of
minority procurement,
he said, "if we get
business for smalt com
panies, that would go a
long way in helping to
solve the black
u n e m p I o y m e n t
problem." As he has
repeatedly done, Hooks
explained that small
businesses over the last
20 or more years have
been providing 80 per
cent of job opportunities
in the nation. However,
few blacks have been in
volved in fhis area.
H ook s a nt icipated real
progress with the utility
companies because they
have contracting increas
es amounts of, thpir
' " ' f
from Page 13)
. work in recent years.
Thus, he is very op
timistic about thr
NAACP's new thrust.
This is a "pact of un
precedented propor
Hons," he said of the
EEI-AGA agreement, y
The NAACP, he said,
is "insisting that
minorities with $175
billion spending power
be included in the
economic" mainstream
of society. With 300 to
400 minority-owned
companies tied to the
utility industry hiring
between 10 and 30
workers each, he said,'
society would see
dramatic progress in the
struggle by , blacks for
equality.
Subscribe To
The Carolina Times
Call 682-2913 '
Today
MIGHT EE IP ME Y0OM IS AM
A CHANGE TO WIN
Kodak & Minolta Cameras
'25" Curtis Mathes Color TV Console
FROM PALMER TV
$500
CASH
PRIZES
South Square Mall Gift Certificates
"Album Gift Packs
$200 Gasoline
FROM PARKVIEW
CONVENIENCE CENTER
And A Hundred Other Prizes
Get Your Window Stickers At These Participating Sponsors Now!!!
Parkview Convenience Center
433 W. Pilot St
Palmer T.V
3 1 65 Hillsborough Road
Durham Sporting Goods
Northgate Mall
Lily Pad VVaterbeds
Coggin Plaza On The Chapel Hill Blvd.
Pam-A-Rama Beauty Salon
1218FayettevilleSt.
The Chamelon Club
117W. Parrish St.
AND LISTEN TO 1490 AM FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO WIN
S&E Hair Care Center
2518FayettevilleSt.
The Record Bars
Durham; Raleigh & Chapel Hill
Evelyn King's Hair Design
305SowellSt.
Bunky's Car Wash
1918RoxboroRd.