UAE boy Adnan needs Dhs10.6 million lifesaving treatment for rare disease

Adnan’s Father: We Have No Choice but to Appeal to Kind-Hearted People to Help Save His Life

While children wake up each day to the sounds of school and play, seven-and-a-half-year-old Adnan Mohammed Al Qadi opens his eyes to a completely different reality — medical devices, blood tests, painful treatment sessions, and a mother hiding her fear behind an exhausted smile.

The road from his home to Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital has become the only route he knows well, as Duchenne muscular dystrophy continues to gradually drain his strength day after day.

Adnan suffers from a rare genetic disorder that rapidly attacks the muscles of his body and threatens his ability to move and live normally in the future. Yet he still clings to one final hope: receiving the gene therapy “Elevidys” — a one-time injection designed to deliver a shortened version of the dystrophin gene to strengthen muscles and slow the progression of the disease.

A Fading Hope

But this hope is slipping away. Adnan must receive the treatment before the age of 12 for it to remain effective, while his family stands helpless before the staggering cost of the therapy, which amounts to Dh10.6 million — making it one of the world’s most expensive gene injections.

With every passing day, his health deteriorates further, while his parents endure a painful race against time to save their son before it is too late.

Adnan poses for a photograph with his father.

Mohammed Al Qadi, Adnan’s father, said his financial situation does not allow him to secure such an enormous amount, noting that he is the sole provider for the family and that delaying treatment means further deterioration in his son’s condition.

“We live with daily heartbreak as we watch the disease consume our child before our eyes, and we have no choice but to appeal to kind-hearted people to help us save his life,” he said.

Adnan’s mother explained that doctors conducted a long series of medical examinations and tests that confirmed he has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, stressing that the treatment represents his final chance before his body loses the ability to resist the disease.

The family has appealed to compassionate donors to contribute toward their child’s treatment, while Dar Al Ber Society continues its efforts to raise donations to save Adnan and give him a new chance at life.

Between the hospital bed and his mother’s tears, Adnan wants nothing more than to live his childhood like any other child. Will someone give him the chance to live?

Donation link: https://contribute.daralber.ae/Mosahmats/ViewEn/36803