Lao Friends Hospital for Children, Luang Prabang

För Laos Friends Hospital for Children stöttar vi både forskningsprojektet “Molecular characterizations of thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies among thalassemic patients at Lao Friends Hospital for Children” och uppbyggnaden av en hematologi- och onkologi-avdelning på sjukhuset. Stödet gäller under sex år.

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One Year On: Dr. Dorkeo’s Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Residency Update 

Thanks to the financial support of Ellen Bachrachs minnesfond, in October 2024, Dr. Dorkeo Buapao began a three-year fellowship in pediatric hemato-oncology at Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. It’s a big leap for the Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) pediatrician, who is training to become one of only a handful of specialists in this field in Laos. 

The start was far from easy. “The first three months were the hardest,” sher ecalls. Adjusting to a new culture, learning medical in Thai language, and understanding a different hospital system was stressful. “At first, I felt like I was only observing,” she says when she was used to having a leadership role. However, after three months, she gained the confidence to ask her professors for more hands-on responsibilities. With this determination, she has taken on regular patient history-taking, makes clinical decisions under supervision, and now plays an active role in the department’s daily work. 

The fellowship is highly practical, immersing doctors directly in patient care from day one. For Dr. Dorkeo, this has meant long days, often working from 7 a.m. to7 p.m. in the hematology outpatient clinic, plus time in other departments and educational sessions. In July, she joined a multi-day gathering forhemato-oncology and pediatric fellows, where she learned the latest evidence-based practices and shared experiences with colleagues from across the region. 

Her work has already expanded her understanding of the field. “Hemato-oncology is much broader than I imagined,” she says. One memorable case involved diagnosing prolonged neonatal jaundice with an uncommon cause, a challenge she had never encountered before. “It taught me how important it is to look beyond the obvious and to think critically about every symptom,” she explains. “I realized that medicine isn’t just about memorizing conditions; it’s about connecting the dots and understanding each patient’s unique story.” She also passed hermid-year exam in June, receiving encouraging feedback from her professors for her growing confidence and clinical reasoning. 

Looking Ahead: Blood Bank Training 

In December 2025, Dr. Dorkeo begun a month-long placement in the hospital’s bloodbank. There, she learns how to prescribe the right blood and blood products for specific conditions, match blood types and components, inter pretcompatibility testing, and manage transfusion reactions. She also gaini nsight into the storage, handling, and quality control that make transfusionssafe for children with cancers and other blood disorders. 

Her plans extend beyond her training in Thailand. She hopes to apply what she’s learn to see how the blood bank systems in Laos compare in order to identify areas for quality improvement and share new knowledge with her colleagues. 

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På bild: Dr. Dorkeo Buapao

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