What happens when a bone marrow transplant is needed for chronic myeloid leukemia?

Question

My mother may have chronic myeloid leukemia, and one of the ways of treating it is a bone marrow transplant.

Who are usually the closest matches for donors? Can children be a close enough match (usually) to be a donor?

Once a donor is found, what happens?

I am very worried, and would like to know what my chances are of being able to help my mother. I would like to know what may be in store for her, and how I can help her prepare in every way. I would also like to know how the transplant affects the donor so I may prepare, if I am a match.

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

There is a non invasive way to treat CML (chronic myeloid leukemia). This is with the use of a drug called Gleevac (Imantinib). This drug targets the receptors on the CML cells and prevents them from dividing.

CML occurs as a result of a translocation of a chromosome to produce a new chromosome called the philedelphia chromosome and to produce a active protein called BCR/abl. This is a tyrosine kinase receptor which actively stimulates cells to divide uncontrollably. Gleevac targets the receptor specifically and stops the cell division.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The best donors are usually siblings, parents, or children, I'm told. A friend once donated marrow for her sister. In her case, they used a needle/drill combination, I think, and took marrow from her pelvic bone. They gave her sister radiation treatments to completely kill her own bone marrow, then transfused the donor marrow into her blood stream. It migrated into her bones and eventually started producing new blood cells.

Good luck!

Answer 3

A transplant is perfectly harmless, it all depends on finding a donor, good luck with that, I know that it is a tough situation, God bless.