Stem cell transplant patient doing well

BOISE –A stem cell transplant appears to have been successful for a 2-year-old girl suffering from a rare disease, officials say.

Annabelle Green has apparently accepted all the donor cells doctors at Duke University Medical Center transplanted 40 days ago, hospital spokeswoman Kendall Morgan said.

The toddler could be released soon from the Durham, N.C., hospital to begin what is expected to be months of outpatient treatment in North Carolina before she can return to Boise.

The child suffers from Sanfilippo syndrome, which is the absence of an enzyme critical in building the body’s connective tissue.

The family raised over $140,000 to help defray expenses, but the key to securing the operation was convincing the state to foot the bill, estimated as high as $1 million, under the Medicaid program.