Kochi: The long battle of Nini Monsi, 37, the Bengaluru-based engineer of Kerala parents, against leukemia came to an end on Saturday morning. Nini was earlier in the news of having the rare success of identifying someone with matching stem cells for her. But unfortunately, the person, a doctor who volunteered during a stem cell drive, backed out later for unknown reasons.
Nini thus had to settle for the stem cells of her mom Elsy, though not a perfect match, with the family hoping for a miracle. But their hopes were dashed when the engineer working with HCL Infosystems breathed her last in Bengaluru in the early hours on Saturday.
Nini leaves two young children, Angela and Yohan, husband Jomy Yohannan and parents Monsi K. Mani and Elsy.
Incidentally, a stem cell drive for Nini, held among Shipyard employees, here, accidentally helped another patient, as the stem cells of an employee, Sidhin T.R., turned out to be a match for a leukemia patient under treatment in Vellore.
Stem cell transplantation gained currency in India in 2011 and till date over 60 transplants were done, including at least two in the state. A simple mouth swab test is the first step to find a genetic match. Gireesh Kumar, the other stem cell donor, said that the procedure for donation was a simple one and completely safe for the donor.
