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Michael had his transplant Monday, and is doing "as well as can be
expected." He's still feeling the effects (nausea, etc.) of the chemo he received last week and is anxious about possible side effects and whether the transplant will, in fact, work. He'll be in isolation until his white blood cells are such that he'll be able to fight off germs, then perhaps in the hospital in non-isolation for a while, then into an apartment near the hospital for 3 months or so in order to be able to get back there ASAP should problems develop. Set out below is a copy of an article from a web site about bone marrow transplants that I should have sent out a while ago. I'll keep you posted on Michael's progress. Bob Bone marrow transplant Description: Bone marrow is a soft fatty tissue found inside bones. It produces blood cells (red blood cells, platelets </conditions/ency/article/003647.htm< , and white blood cells). When the patient develops disease of the blood cells (anemias </conditions/ency/article/000560.htm< , leukemias, or lymphomas) or when cancer </conditions/ency/article/001289.htm< treatment (chemotherapy </conditions/ency/article/002324.htm< and radiation therapy </conditions/ency/article/001918.htm< ) damages or destroys the bone marrow, a transplant with healthy bone marrow can save the patient's life. Patients need bone marrow transplants because they have dangerously low white blood cells (which are needed to fight infection) as a result of cancer treatments or have cancer of the blood cells. Bone marrow transplant patients are usually treated in specialized centers and the patient stays in a special nursing unit (bone marrow transplant unit: BMT) to limit exposure to infections. Donated bone marrow must match the patient's tissue type. It can be taken from the patient, a living relative (usually a brother or a sister: allogeneic), or from an unrelated donor (found through the national marrow donor program which lists more than 700,000 potential donors). Donors are matched through special blood tests called HLA tissue typing (see HLA antigens </conditions/ency/article/003550.htm< ). Bone marrow is taken from the donor in the operating room while the patient is deep asleep and pain-free (under general anesthesia). Some of patient's bone marrow is removed from the top of the hip bone (iliac crest). The bone marrow is filtered, treated, and transplanted immediately or frozen and stored for later use. Bone marrow transplant is transfused into the patient through a vein (IV line) and is naturally transported back into the bone cavities where it grows quickly to replace the old bone marrow. What to Expect After: Bone marrow transplant prolongs the life of a patient who would otherwise die. Relatively normal activities can be resumed as soon as the patient feels well enough and after consulting with the doctor. The other significant problems with a bone marrow transplant are those of all major organ transplants--finding a donor and the cost of the surgery. The donor is usually a sibling with compatible tissue. The more siblings the patient has the more chances to find the right donor. Convalescence: The hospitalization period is from 4 to 6 weeks, during which time the patient is isolated and under strict monitoring because of the increased risk of infection. The patient will require attentive follow-up care for 2 to 3 months after discharge from the hospital. It may take 6 months to a year for the immune system to fully recover from this procedure. Risks: The major problem with bone marrow transplants (allogeneic type) is graft-versus-host disease </conditions/ency/article/001309.htm< ; the opposite of the graft rejection </conditions/ency/article/000815.htm< problems seen in other transplants ( transplant rejection </conditions/ency/article/000815.htm< ). The transplanted healthy bone marrow cells tend to attack the patient's (host) cells as though they were foreign organisms. In this case, drugs to suppress the immune system ( immunosuppression </conditions/ency/article/000818.htm< medications) must be taken indefinitely, weakening the body's ability to fight infections. Bob Joyce Kvaerner Process 7909 Parkwood Circle Drive Houston, TX 77036 (713) 995-2137 (713) 270-3652 -- Fax bob.joyce@kvaerner.com <mailto:bob.joyce@kvaerner.com< This electronic message transmission and any attachments contain information from the Kvaerner Process Legal Department that may be confidential and/or privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee(s) above, and use by any other party is not authorized. If you are not an intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately by using the "reply" feature or by telephone, and then delete this message and any attachments. Thank you.
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