num_pages: 276
description: David Nathan was stunned when he first saw Dayem Saif at Children's Hospital in Boston in September 1968. Dayem was then a six-year-old with the stature of an average-sized boy of two. He wore baby shoes on his tiny feet and was unable to walk without holding his mother's hand. His colour was dark yet pasty and his face horribly misshapen. The child was being ravaged by thalassemia, a life-threatening inherited disease of the blood, and one of the leading causes of disfigurement, disability and death in children worldwide. Without effective treatment, Dayem would almost cetainly die before his 20th birthday.
language: English
title: Genes, Blood, and Courage: A Boy Called Immortal Sword
titlecomplete: Genes, Blood, and Courage: A Boy Called Immortal Sword
ratings_count: 3
publisher: Belknap Press