Watauga County Relay for Life Marrow Info
So what is this bone marrow thing all about ?
The test is as simple as a little vial of blood from the arm (just like the type when
you go to the doctor's office.
There are certain cancer patients that may require a bone marrow transplant. The
most common form of leukemia is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). ALL is 80% treatable
and curable with chemo and radiation. There are some forms of leukemia however that are
far too progressive to treat. The progressive forms of leukemia and the 20% of patients
who may relapse require a bone marrow stem cell transplant to have any chance.
Let me first give a quick anatomy lesson to help you understand. The blood is made up
of several types of cells - white cells (that help fight infection), red cells (that help carry
oxygen throughout the body) and platelets (cells that help clot the blood). The plasma carries
these blood cells. The blood cells are created in the bone marrow as stem
cells. You have 6 antigens that make up your stem cell type. These are
called HLA factors. You get 50% from each parent. So, your best chance of a match is a
sibling, who also gets 50% from each parent. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood. As the
cancer progresses, it goes faster than the stem cells and eventually crowds out all the
new stem cells that should be growing.
The treatment of leukemia is to kill off all the blood cells (in hopes of killing the leukemia).
When the leukemia cannot be treated, they will kill off the entire blood system and give
new bone marrow via a transplant. Your best chance of a bone marrow match is a
sibling. If a match cannot be found, they can search the
National Bone Marrow Registry for a match. The chance is 1 in a million ! If you get a
sibling match, that is called related donor match and you have a reduced chance of getting
graft vs. host disease after the match. In a related donor match, the donor gives the
marrow by extraction from the large hip bone. If the donor is unrelated, the donotion
is now done via pheresis (like donating platelets). And by the way, the transplant patient is
awake during the 20 minute transplant process. It just looks like they are getting blood.
Through a research grant from the American Cancer Society, Dr. Kurtberg at Duke University
pioneered the cord blood stem cell transplant. Umbilical cords can be donated after child
birth. The umbilical cord is where you find the purest form of stem cells. These stem cells
have never had to go out in a body and learn infection-fighting patterns. Umbilical cord
stem cell transplants are very successful in children under age 12. Research is being done
now for adults.
So, what does this have to do with you ? For starters, the more folks who get on the
National Bone Marrow Registry, the more chances a person has of finding their needle in a
haystack match !
And, during the transplant process, the patients will need LOTS of blood and platelets
every day until their new stem cells start growing. My 5 year old niece was receiving
platelets and blood EVERY day for about 2-3 months.
So, please consider your special gift of life - bone marrow, blood, platelets ! Many
people die waiting for a life-saving match. You CAN make a difference.
Check out these websites for some more info:
National Marrow Donor Program
Bone Marrow Testing
ARC Platelets
Hendrick Marrow Program
Cord Blood Registry
Leukemia Society
So what is this bone marrow thing all about ?
The test is as simple as a little vial of blood from the arm (just like the type when you go to the doctor's office.
There are certain cancer patients that may require a bone marrow transplant. The most common form of leukemia is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). ALL is 80% treatable and curable with chemo and radiation. There are some forms of leukemia however that are far too progressive to treat. The progressive forms of leukemia and the 20% of patients who may relapse require a bone marrow stem cell transplant to have any chance.
Let me first give a quick anatomy lesson to help you understand. The blood is made up of several types of cells - white cells (that help fight infection), red cells (that help carry oxygen throughout the body) and platelets (cells that help clot the blood). The plasma carries these blood cells. The blood cells are created in the bone marrow as stem cells. You have 6 antigens that make up your stem cell type. These are called HLA factors. You get 50% from each parent. So, your best chance of a match is a sibling, who also gets 50% from each parent. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood. As the cancer progresses, it goes faster than the stem cells and eventually crowds out all the new stem cells that should be growing.
The treatment of leukemia is to kill off all the blood cells (in hopes of killing the leukemia). When the leukemia cannot be treated, they will kill off the entire blood system and give new bone marrow via a transplant. Your best chance of a bone marrow match is a sibling. If a match cannot be found, they can search the National Bone Marrow Registry for a match. The chance is 1 in a million ! If you get a sibling match, that is called related donor match and you have a reduced chance of getting graft vs. host disease after the match. In a related donor match, the donor gives the marrow by extraction from the large hip bone. If the donor is unrelated, the donotion is now done via pheresis (like donating platelets). And by the way, the transplant patient is awake during the 20 minute transplant process. It just looks like they are getting blood.
Through a research grant from the American Cancer Society, Dr. Kurtberg at Duke University pioneered the cord blood stem cell transplant. Umbilical cords can be donated after child birth. The umbilical cord is where you find the purest form of stem cells. These stem cells have never had to go out in a body and learn infection-fighting patterns. Umbilical cord stem cell transplants are very successful in children under age 12. Research is being done now for adults.
So, what does this have to do with you ? For starters, the more folks who get on the National Bone Marrow Registry, the more chances a person has of finding their needle in a haystack match ! And, during the transplant process, the patients will need LOTS of blood and platelets every day until their new stem cells start growing. My 5 year old niece was receiving platelets and blood EVERY day for about 2-3 months.
So, please consider your special gift of life - bone marrow, blood, platelets ! Many people die waiting for a life-saving match. You CAN make a difference.
Check out these websites for some more info:
National Marrow Donor Program
Bone Marrow Testing
ARC Platelets
Hendrick Marrow Program
Cord Blood Registry
Leukemia Society