Saturday, February 25, 2006

BMT Consultation and A Perfect Match

During the consultation they told us in more detail what to expect, drugs they use, side effects, and the textbook version of how a BMT should progress. We have a tentative date of July 1, 2006. They want David to heal from the brain bleed first. They want to keep his platelets up until the BMT which means many transfusions. Platelets only last 1 week. We are very concerned about this and hope to find a compelling reason to stop the transfusions. Their reasoning is that they don't want David to injur himself again which would set us back for the BMT. It is my hope and prayer that David's current brain injury will completely heal and his body will completely absorb the blood before the MRI which is scheduled for March 23.

They have a 10/10 match from a male, 19 yrs old, CMV negative, and the only thing that does not match is his blood type which is A+ and David is O+. They will manipulate the blood to remove the A+ properties so it's compatible with David's blood type. They will contact the donor 4 weeks before transplant to see if he is still interested in donating. My hope and prayer is that he will consent.

They decided not to choose a cord blood donor because (1) the stem cells are limited (2) they take longer (up to 3 weeks) to engraft which leaves the patient suseptible to infections (3) they take longer to mature since they are brand new stem cells, also leaving the patient open to infections. We thought cord blood was a great option since they are virgin cells where as adult bone marrow has been exposed to more and there is a higher risk of graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). I prayed for the doctors to find the best donor possible, so I am trusting God to guide and direct the choice of donor. The adult donor for David sounds really good as long as he consents.

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