No match! :(

[rahulmathur9]

Dad who has RAEB 2 has only 1 sibling who was not a match for the BMT.

We will now try and search for an unrelated donor.

However could anyone shed some light on what happens to patients who don’t find a suitable donor? im sure not everyone does.

What are the best options available in case there isnt a donor?

[jaxem]

rahul
per most of the notable advisors I have read, the next best viable option is an umbilical cord stem cell transplant. there is a body size limit to get enough stem cells, blast level needs to be below 5%, the heart needs an ejection fraction above 35%, good kidney function, and be below 70 years of age. After that, more experimental haplo (half match from a sibling of child) transplants have been done.

[rahulmathur9]

How do u determine whether a patient is a suitable candidate for an umbilical cord transplant?

[rahulmathur9]

Jaxem, which are the main centers for Umbilical cord transplants? where is your wife getting it done from?

[jaxem]

rahul
the most experienced centers will run diagnostic tests to determine suitability of a candidate including mri/cat scans, echo test for the heart, 24 hour urinary function test, etc. if you browse the nmdp web page, note the centers that have done the most cord transplants and their success ratios. When I did it, I noted that Fairview Hospital, part of the University of Minnesota, stood above all others for cord transplants. I also noted that the annual cord meeting had more physicians from Fairview there than anywhere else reporting on their research. When my wife & I were there last november, they were completing their 5000th transplant.

[jga_socal]

Rahul, Not sure what kind of search your hcp is doing. If you want the transplant in the US I suspect you should get the HLA typing test processed by US labs and the donor search should use the NMDP. It could be that you have to begin with a relationship with a US transplant center. They will take care of the HLA draw and matching with the NMDP. The NMDP database has over 6 million donors.

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