One of a Kind

We just returned from an appointment with Dr. Shernan Holtan at OHSU and got some exciting news.  You all know Pam is one of a kind... we now have scientific proof ....

Bad News May Be Good News

To review:

• Two months ago, we learned that Pam's brothers, Mike and Mark were not suitable donors, even though each of them had a 50/50 chance.
• So, we have moved onto step 2: finding an unrelated donor from the bone marrow donor registry.  A month ago, at our last visit with Dr. Holtan, we found out there were 60 potential matches out of the 20+ million people in the bone marrow registry, and that chances were very good that Pam would find a suitable match.
• Today we found out that none of the 60 potential donors was suitable.

So, it turns out that 20 million people; including brothers Mark and Mike, not a suitable match with Pam.  She is one in 20 Million.

How Can This be Good News?

Since Pam can't find a suitable unrelated donor, she is eligible for a stem cell transplant from umbilical cord blood AND, the great news is that 2 suitable units of blood have been identified.

There are some disadvatages to the umbilical cord blood:  there is a small volume of harvestable cells and it takes longer for the immature stem cells to become rough and ready germ fighting machines.  So, cord blood transplant patients are generally in the hospital longer and have to take safeguards against infections even longer than other stem cell transplant patients.



Ready for Tapalaya!

The big advantage is that there is less Graft vs Host Disease (rejection) than there would be with an adult stem cell transplant.  Graft vs Host can be a very chronic condition requiring medication for many years, so having less Graft vs Host is a very good thing.

Also, this means that we can get on with the process right away AND she will probably not need to have another round of consolidation chemo.  We are expecting to get going before Christmas.

We are going out for dinner and music with friends Mort and Tina tonight at a New Orleans style joint we like called Tapalaya, complete with gumbo, jumbalaya, and beignets.  It looks like we have something to celebrate!