Ava Zerouk – A Story of Hope and Healing Through Cord Blood
Ava Zerouk was born on November 12, 2013. She is one of the many children who have recovered thanks to the Royan Cord Blood Bank. Her parents shared her story with us — let’s read it together.
Ava’s Mother Says:
Ava was born healthy, but she had trouble sleeping at night. She cried and screamed. When we took her to the doctor, they said it was normal and nothing to worry about. Since I also had trouble sleeping, I didn’t think much of it at first. But when her sleepless nights continued for a long time, I started to worry. We had to rock her for hours to calm her down. She wouldn’t rest unless she had acetaminophen.
After her two-month vaccination, about three days later, we noticed a small swelling on the left side of her neck. At 2 a.m., I told my husband that it wasn’t normal — it looked like one side of her face was swelling. He said it was normal and that she was just getting chubbier. But I insisted that it wasn’t just weight gain — it was swelling.
That night passed, but the next day we went to the doctor. The swelling had increased, and she had such a high fever that her pillow was soaked in sweat.
The doctor said it was nothing serious — just a side effect of the vaccine. For a whole month, we visited different doctors, but none of them considered it abnormal, and no tests were ordered. Finally, one doctor — experienced and attentive — immediately asked, “Why hasn’t she had any tests?” We ran tests right away. I remember it was Mother’s Day. The results showed that her white blood cells were not in good condition. The doctor said, “If this test result is accurate, it’s not a good sign.”
We repeated the test, and the results were confirmed: our only child was not well and had to be hospitalized. The doctor emphasized not to delay, even for a single day.
I asked, “Does she have cancer?” He said yes — the signs pointed to it.
We couldn’t believe it, but the doctor insisted on immediate hospitalization. Ava was admitted to a hospital in Babol. By then, we knew what illness our child was facing.
She was in the emergency unit for a week, waiting for a hospital bed. Constant testing and samples were being sent to Tehran. We waited anxiously for the results. For two weeks, it was all IV fluids and lab tests — nothing more.
Ava’s Mother Continues:
At my insistence, we transferred her to Tehran. She was admitted to Mofid Children's Hospital. Her spleen was severely enlarged, her body bruised — we saw death with our own eyes. Her platelet and white blood cell counts were dangerously low. Her vital signs were extremely poor. Ava was just four months old at the time.
God Gave Us Strength
Ava’s Father Says:
Doctors diagnosed Ava with Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML) — a rare, aggressive myeloid malignancy with a chronic course. Although the leukemia cells retain their ability to mature and differentiate, the only potential cure is a bone marrow transplant.
Unfortunately, no suitable donor for bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells was found for our daughter.
We were extremely worried and desperately searching for a cure. Several rounds of chemotherapy were performed to reduce the size of her spleen, but chemotherapy alone was no longer effective — transplantation was essential.
Finally, on October 3, 2014, Dr. Amir Ali Hamidieh — a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and head of the Comprehensive Stem Cell Transplant Center at Children’s Medical Center — introduced cord blood transplantation as a treatment option. A suitable cord blood sample with a 5/6 HLA match was found in the Royan Cord Blood Bank for Ava.
Ava was hospitalized for one month and received continued treatment and monitoring for six months at Mahak Hospital, which supports children with cancer.
After six months, Ava fully recovered and is now a second-grade student — a bright and playful child who quickly understands her lessons after just one explanation from her teacher.
We Wanted to Store Ava’s Cord Blood, But...
Ava’s father explains: “We had intended to store Ava’s cord blood, but we lacked sufficient information. When my wife was pregnant, we decided to go for it, but we wrongly assumed the request could be made at the time of delivery. When the delivery came, we were told the request had to be made in advance — and by then, it was too late...”