A child with acquired aplastic anemia has the best prognosis with which treatment regimen?

• A. Bone Marrow Transplant
• B. Steroid Therapy
• C. Antibiotics Only
• D. Supportive Care with Transfusions

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that acquired aplastic anemia causes pancytopenia because the bone marrow fails to produce blood cells, so the treatment that offers the highest chance of a long-term cure is replacing the defective marrow with healthy hematopoietic stem cells from a matched donor. A bone marrow transplant from a matched sibling donor can reconstitute the marrow and restore normal blood cell production, giving the most durable remission and potential cure, especially in younger children. Steroid therapy and other immunosuppressive approaches can help some patients but do not provide the same durable cure rates and can be followed by relapse. Antibiotics alone don’t address the marrow failure, and supporting with transfusions manages symptoms without treating the underlying problem, leading to a poorer long-term prognosis compared with transplantation in suitable candidates.