8 Year-Old Girl Healed from Leukemia with Groundbreaking Treatment

Simi Drenger has become the first child to achieve complete remission from leukemia after being treated with innovative CAR-T cell therapy, which was developed at the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer.
The cancer-stricken 8-year-old girl from Bnei Brak had not responded to traditional chemotherapy cancer treatments and was very ill. “The chemotherapy not only wasn’t working, but its side effects created holes in parts of her stomach, which made things even worse. There really wasn’t any other alternative than to try something new and different,” Simi’s father Yisroel explained.
Sheba doctors turned to a cutting-edge treatment, CAR-T cell therapy, which used Simi's own T-cells - taken from her immune system - and genetically engineered them in a laboratory to produce special receptors called Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CAR), which were then reinfused back into Simi's body. 
 “After a month of using ‘biologics’ or CAR T-cell therapy, we began to see a miraculous change for the better almost without any harsh side effects. She started to get stronger and be active like most children her age. B’ezrat Hashem, we look forward to seeing her return to school soon,” Yisroel said. Today, Simi is enjoying the music room in The Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital at Sheba as she awaits her final release from the hospital. 
Overall, CAR-T-cell therapy has achieved a 75% positive response rate in 17 patients (children and adults) who have been treated at the Sheba Medical Center, and who had previously failed to respond to conventional cancer treatments.

Simi’s road to recovery is off with a bang: Watch here