KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — The leukaemia treatment medication obtained through public donations for a female patient from Limbang, Sarawak, will be donated to another needy recipient after the patient died before receiving the treatment.

Sarimah Mingai, the mother of the late Nurul Fithriyani Mahrip, 31, said her family had come to terms with the matter — all efforts to give her daughter the new treatment were in vain after Nurul Fithriyani contracted an infection while being treated at the University Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM).

“Although the deceased did not have the chance to use the medicine, we hope it can help other patients who need treatment,” she said to Bernama when met at Pusrawi Specialist Medical Centre Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The woman said her family moved to Kuala Lumpur in October 2024 and shifted to three rented homes to facilitate her daughter’s treatment. Nurul Fithriyani was diagnosed with leukaemia about two months after her marriage.

According to her, the deceased, who passed away on April 11, was previously active and did not have any serious health issues, and even underwent a health check-up before her marriage.

Sarimah and her husband, Mahrip Onga, expressed their gratitude to all the donors and parties, including Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Pusrawi Specialist Hospital Kuala Lumpur and PPUM, who helped with efforts to obtain treatment for the deceased.

On April 5, Fadillah had the opportunity to visit Nurul Fithriyani and to provide assistance to her parents and her husband, Mohd Taufiq Abd Rahim.

Sarimah said her daughter had undergone various treatments, including chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and stem cell transplant, but her health deteriorated.

Meanwhile, Pusrawi Specialist Medical Centre Kuala Lumpur hemato-oncology consultant Dr Mohd Hishamuddin Harun said the deceased was suffering from blood cancer (Relapsed or Refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia or R/R B-ALL), which is an aggressive type of blood cancer that requires intensive treatment and involves high costs.

He said the next option is antibody treatment or ‘targeted therapy’, but the medication is not available in Malaysia and needs to be imported from abroad.

“We managed to expedite the process of obtaining the licence and the supply of the medicine, but the patient passed away due to an infection before the treatment could begin,” he said.

According to him, the decision to donate the medicine and remaining funds to other patients was made after receiving the opinion of the hospital’s Shariah panel. — Bernama