Does anyone know anything about Bone Marrow Transplant? Is it painful for the giver? Any aftereffects to giver
955859
You can register with the national bone donor marrow registry, as I did.  I am O+, but a lot more than your ABO types and Rhesus factors are involved. It is based on tissue typing. I registered in a drive to help a local high school student, but was never called.\nDonating marrow does involve extracting marrow from your bones, but you are under anesthesia. I am going to paste info from the Registry site.  Sorry to be lazy, but I'm tired and need to go to sleep.\n\n"Marrow donation is a surgical procedure performed in a hospital. While the donor receives anesthesia, doctors use special, hollow needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the donor's pelvic bones. Many donors receive a transfusion of their own previously donated blood. A donor's marrow is completely replaced within four to six weeks.\n\n\nPBSC donation takes place at an apheresis center. To increase the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream, donors receive daily injections of a drug called filgrastim for five days before the collection. The donor's blood is then removed through a sterile needle in one arm, passed through a machine that separates out the cells used in transplantation, and the remaining blood is returned through the other arm.\n\nCord blood is collected from the umbilical cord after a baby's birth. The cord blood is taken to a cord blood bank where it is tested. Cord blood units that meet eligibility standards are frozen and stored for future use. The collection does not pose any health risk to the mother or baby, and does not affect the birth process in any way.\n\nDoes donating hurt? What are the side effects?\nMarrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for a few days or longer. Donors also have reported feeling tired and having some difficulty walking. Most donors are back to their usual routine in a few days. Some may take two to three weeks before they feel completely recovered.\n\n\nPBSC donors report varying symptoms including headache, bone or muscle pain, nausea, insomnia and fatigue while receiving injections of filgrastim. These effects disappear shortly after collection. During the collection, donors may experience a tingling feeling or chills. These effects go away shortly after donating. When asked about their discomfort, most donors are quick to point out that it was worth it to help save a life, and they would be willing to do it again.
896974
Between $100,000 - 250,000 US dollars, but many insurance companies will pay for it. There are also other ways to cover the cost for the transplant, you should discuss this with the hospital social worker or your doctor. You should also keep in mind expenses to the family for such things as extensive lodging, meals, loss of income . . making the total cost much higher. \n\nNational Bone Marrow: Frequently asked Questions\nhttp://www.nbmtlink.org/faq.asp
283230
Yep, Arkansas marrow isn't compatible with California marrow :o)\n\nNo, like the other people said, donations can be nationwide.  In fact, donations can even be worldwide.  Check out this website...
17914
I had a kidney transplant about 9 months ago. I looked up at the clock in the operating room at about 9 a.m., they said they were going to start... Then I became aware of a pain in my side and saw a clock in a different room that said about 1 o'clock.  I only knew they had done the surgery because of the pain and the clock. It was not like sleeping. I was not aware at all during the time I was "out". It was just a total blank. When I'm asleep, I still have some awareness of time passing, I think, but not so when I was under anesthesia.\nOne of the nurses in the recovery room asked my aunt who gave me the kidney, "Who did you give your kidney to?" My aunt was still pretty out of it, but she obviously didn't remember anything either -- she said, "I haven't given it to her yet."  :-)\n\nP.S. The pain upon "coming to" was not too bad. They have lots of good meds to help with the pain.
158525
It may take several extra hours before your body is given to the funeral home/whatever (while the donation surgery is being arranged).\n\nA very small inconvenience compared to the lives you'll be saving.
372214
When my son was delivered, I had lost a lot of blood and my blood pressure was very low, and kept dropping. I could hardly breathe and felt as if I were going to pass out. The doctor ordered blood for me. This was back in '89 when aids was often not found in blood until after it was given. I was terrified of receiving someone else's blood that may be tainted with disease. So, I begged the doctor not to give it to me. He smiled and said, "I tell you what, if your blood pressure rises by the time they get here with the blood, I won't give it to you." He looked at me as if he were just trying to humor me, but I said "ok," and began to pray. I was so terrified and was shaking in fear and from being cold. I was crying and so upset. But, after I finished praying, I felt better. The blood arrived, and the doctor instructed the nurse to check my blood pressure. It was fine, that quick. The doctor said, "Well, I don't know how you managed to do that, but your blood pressure is fine now." I told him I prayed, and he just looked at me funny. The nurse asked him what she should do, and he told her nothing that I was fine. \n\nAnother time, I came down with pain from head to toe and could hardly move for a couple of months. The doctor told me that it was a form of arthritis from a virus, and that when it left, I would be left with arthritis somewhere in my body. A neighbor asked if she could pray for me. I agreed, and felt something strange, immediately. I was not healed that day, but a couple of days later, I was 100% better and felt better than I had in a long time. I was not left with arthritis anywhere. That was back in 1990.\n\nI would like to add that God does not always give us what we want. He is not a genie in a bottle that grants wishes. He acts on what is best for Him and us. He knows what works will help us and others, so sometimes our prayers SEEM unanswered, but you must remember that God is always in control, and wants only the BEST for us.
1092946
These are the only complicatios I found.  I suppose if were hemopheliac blood donation could be fatal.\n\n"Finger prick and needle insertion typically cause only minor discomfort. Phlebotomists may however experience difficulties in obtaining enough blood from some donors.\n\nDuring or shortly after the donation, hypovolemia may occasionally lead to a drop in blood pressure with some donors experiencing light-headedness or fainting. In some cases this may necessitate cancelling the donation, restoring blood volume with an intravenous infusion, or placing the donor in a Trendelenburg position (on a stretcher tilted "legs up"). Beverages may be given to further replenish blood volume, and the donor may have to remain in a horizontal position for a while under monitoring. Most blood banks encourage donors to rest for several minutes after donation (often while eating and drinking) to let them adjust to the loss of blood and reduce the risk of these problems.\n\nIn less than 1% of cases, improperly inserting the needle is followed by bruising of the arm in the weeks afterwards.[3]\n\nNegative medical reactions to blood donation are rare and blood bank staff are trained to handle them.'
627735
If the person is younger than 55 and healthy otherwise, a bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant can give some people a chance for complete recovery. As you age, this therapy becomes more problematic and is rarely done past age 70. Usually AML is fatal unless a BMT or SCT is done. Chemo and radiation can slow down the decline, but it takes a BMT to give a good chance for survival.  good luck\n\nhttp://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/aml.html
318512
Ask your doctor if it will have any side effects or long term issues. Personally, that sounds like fun, I love the head rushes you get after giving blood, I have never fainted though....
1123512
lung transplant these days are very succesful but carries the risk of rejection nevertheless, and the possibility that the CF will reattack the new lungs and eventually make them like the original.   \n\nbut your question actually involves more than how long one is on "the list".  there are multiple transplant patients, well over a few hundred thousand, many of whom are at the top of the list.  there are only a few donors throughtout the country depending on a variety of issues as to whether or not they would make good donors for your nephew.  of course tissue matching and rejection possibilities play a big part in the selection, as does age, priority of illness, organ itself, staff availability, and a few other key issues.  survivability is another factor which is looked at and can sway the decision as to whether one patient or the other gets the organ.\n\nit can be overwhelming.  there are also many success stories where out of the blue you recieve a call because "bingo" everything matches your nephews need.  so dont despair, the odds are better than the lotto but in general can be hard to win.  \n\non a different note but relative to CF; there are many fine advances in the contol and treatment of CF.  gene therapy, dna alteration, and similar biotech approaches are also available and should be considered, they have their successes too.  \n\nlastly understand that CF is not a primary respiratory problem; it is secondary.  CF is a metabolic disease with respiratory involvement.  CF patients are prone to many recurring lung infections like pneumonia but not limited to pneumonia.\n\ngood luck.
607736
She started a bone-marrow foundation for increasing awareness for bone marrow transplant patients. \n\nThe Mia Hamm Foundation is a reflection of my life experiences. I created this foundation to benefit important issues that have directly affected me throughout my life. The foundation is focused on providing support for two important causes: raising funds and awareness for bone marrow transplant patients and continuing the growth in opportunities for young women in sports. \nSupport for Bone Marrow Transplant Patients and Families - I understand the pain of bone marrow disease first hand. In 1997, my brother Garrett passed away from complications related to aplastic anemia. Through an all-star exhibition soccer match, "The Garrett Game", we are able to raise awareness and funds for bone marrow disease research, and to support families through the marrow transplant process. At halftime in the 2001Garrett Game we brought together marrow donors with recipients for the first time. It was clearly my most satisfying moment away from the field. \n\nYoung Women in Sports - Needless to say, I would not have had the life experiences to date without other pioneers who worked tirelessly to provide opportunities for women in sport. Although I am encouraged by the growth of opportunities for girls, I am committed to continue the progress made in the last decade. It is my goal to help further the development of programs and initiatives for young women in sports. \n\nWith these issues in mind the mission of the Mia Hamm Foundation is as follows: \n\n"The Mia Hamm Foundation is a non-profit, national organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for bone marrow transplant patients and their families and the development of more opportunities for young women to participate in sport."
9488
Be cautious because there are companies (at least one I've read of) marketing stem cell therapies that have no scientific basis. There's no reason to think that what they are doing will work. This company has been charging something like ten thousand dollars for a treatment and moving from country to country as they have been shut down.\n\nI understand the need for treatments now, but it's sad for a company to take so much money from someone who is very sick by taking advantage of their illness.\n\nWhat has been offered is a transfusion with hematopoietic stem cells, which means blood stem cells. These are cells that have already "decided" to be blood cells, but still have the potential to become different kinds of blood cells, such as red blood cells, white blood cells.\n\nThere are two or three major, major problems with what this company has been offering. One is that they are saying the blood stem cells can cure non-blood related diseases, like diseases that have to do with nerves. The cells they inject have already decided to be blood cells. This is a problem.\n\nThe second problem is that, for the hematopoietic stem cells to graft, meaning to take hold and grow in a recipient, the patient would have to go through a bone marrow transplant, meaning severe treatment to kill their own bone marrow. Otherwise the immune system will kill off the donor stem cells.\n\nThe third problem is that, even if there were some stem cells in the blood that could become nerve or other tissue, if those are just injected, they run the risk of starting other cancers. This point is a little bit tricky, and that's because there is a lot of active research going on in this area. In the idea of using stem cells for therapy, they need to have some instructions (meaning molecular signals) before being injected, otherwise they form tumors. This is not ready for patients yet.\n\nThe other very serious risk is that anyone who signed up for such a treatment is putting their trust in a company that has been put out of business for doing bad science, in the case I'm thinking of. There's no way to know whether they have screened their donors for HIV and other blood borne infectious diseases.\n\nPeople are working very hard to try to come up with better treatments. I know it's not a good answer for anyone who is sick now. Research budgets are being cut at the federal level, and a lot of good labs are having to slow their work or shut down. If you want more progress faster, write your congress person and tell them you support more NIH funding. We're doing our best with your money.
33481
Well, your better off taking the insulin for now because the surgeries are expensive as hell and time consuming. They have isilets of langerhan transplants and pancreas transplants, they have insulin pump transplants and insulin pump therapy. All but the insulin pump therapy requires you to take drugs 6 months in advance to shut down your immune system to ready yourself for a transplant and then you have a 60% chance of rejection if your lucky enough to get a pancreas to begin with so if your ready emotionally, physically, and finacially to go through with it good luck, like i said just get a bottle of insulin and some syringes and tough it out.
100133
Obviously, I wouldn't be able to give you a firsthand account, but my mother died last autumn from cancer. I was with her the last 3 weeks of her life day and night and I can tell you what it was like when she died. \nWhen my mother was released from hospital to be able to die at home she got better for nearly two weeks, eating a bit more every day, feeling better and stronger and being able to enjoy a beautiful time with her family. \nSome three days before her death she started being in pain especially at night. The first night we did not have efficient painkillers and it was terrible. She suffered very much. We luckily were getting in touch with a hospice service next day and she was supplied with a little pump that would release morphine into her bloodstream on demand when she needed it. I do not believe she could have died at home otherwise, the pain was very bad and watching her suffer was nearly impossible. With the pump she felt fine. I do not believe she was more than uncomfortable until she finally died. \nThat first night of pain her breathing changed. It became shallower and louder, as if she could not get enough breath. It was a bit hacking and irregular. It staid like this until her death three days later. She did not seem in pain or terribly inconvenienced by it and did not complain of not having enough air. \nThe last day of her life her legs were filling with water, she was swelling up from her toes to her hips. Again, this did not seem to cause discomfort. It is quite typlical when you die. \nThe evening of the beginning of her death her breathing got more laboured and she asked us to help her sit up straight and pull her arms up front so she could breathe more deeply - at that point she felt a shortage of breath. \nShe wasn't in any pain and was awake til her brother and my older sister came to see her, we had called them in the morning to call them to her deathbed. After she had seen them and said hello and goodbye, she lost consciousness at aroun d 10 pm and never regained it til she died at 10 am. \nThe dying itself was terrible but I believe mostly for us, not for her. Even though her body was destroyed by cancer it did not want to give up and her heart remained strong and just kept on beating. Her breathing was hard and would occasionaly stop but always start again. 11 hours after she lost consciousness did her heartbeat finally get weaker and her blood pressure dropped. Slowly her body temperature sank  and then she finally died. \nShe had not been alone at any point in the last three days of her life and after talking with all the others that were around in that time (half of my family are doctors and nurses) her death was as quiet and peaceful as you can hope for. \nI am sorry if this is not assuring, but it didn't feel terrible either. \nI wish you and your mother all the best
318807
I haven't experienced first hand a case of someone who was able to use the cord blood but I have read several stories of children or families with a sick child that was given the transplant as part of their treatment and were "cured."
269747
My husband is in remission from Hodgkin's for the second time. I thank God we have insurance. When he went through it for the first time, when we were engaged, we happened to ask our nurse what would happen if we didn't have insurance. She told us that he would be getting treatment for no cost because it is a cancer, a life-threatening disease, and the state and hospital could not deprive someone of getting treatment.\n\nOf course, I do not know what state you are from so things may be different. I would ask the doctor, and see if the hospital offers assistance for those who can't afford things like he will need. Believe me, ask for any help you can get, you might have a social worker to help you with the info. I remember when we had to pick up shots called Neupogen. They are to boost white blood cells so he can stay on track with his schedule of treatments. I went to pick it up at the pharmacy and they told me it just went through with the insurance. If it didn't we'd be paying over $300.00 for about 10 days worth.\n\nGood luck to you both, and you are in my prayers. Before you know it, it will be gone and you'll have your normal lives back, just put your trust in God and everything will be okay.
937364
The procedure is basically painless in 99% of the people who've had one. You just feel a little pressure as they take a small sample. The skin is numbed so you don't feel any surface pain. The liver doesn't have many nerves inside, so there is little discomfort. The hardest part is lying on your side for 2-4 hours afterwards. It sounds worse than it is. I've had one. Best wishes.