In 1971, in Texas, David Vetter came to light, destined to become known as the first and most famous child-bolla. From birth, he was diagnosed with a serious form of scid (severe -combined immunodeficiency syndrome), a rare genetic disease that prevents the body from producing T and B lymphocytes, leaving it completely without defenses against viruses and bacteria. Even a simple influence could have been fatal to him.
A life in total isolation
To protect it, the doctors decided to make it live in a sterile plastic room, where every object – from food to toys – was subjected to long sterilization processes. The parents could only touch it through gloves fixed to the walls of the structure. Despite this, inside the Bolla David had a space to study, play and watch television, trying to maintain a daily life as normal as possible.
In 1977, NASA designed a special protective suit for him, similar to that of astronauts, connected to the bubble through a tube. This allowed him to come out on rare occasions without risk of contamination, but the dimensions and anxiety linked to germs limited its use very few times. The awareness of one’s condition and the physical distance from others deeply influenced his psychological well -being.
The hope of transplantation
The only possibility of definitive care seemed to be a bone marrow transplant from a compatible donor. In 1983 the procedure was attempted using the sister’s marrow. Initially the operation seemed successful, but after a few months David began to be seriously enchanted: the transplanted marrow contained traces of the Epstein-Barr virus, which triggered a Burkitt lymphoma. The disease led him to death in February 1984, at just 12 years old.
Scientific inheritance
David’s case had a huge impact on medical research, leading to the development of early diagnosis and innovations protocols such as genical therapy for some forms of scid. From 2016, for the Ada-Scid variant, approved treatment is available based on the genetic correction of the stem cells of the bone marrow, offering many children what David was denied: the possibility of a normal life.
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