Update: On Friday, September 26th we met with Alyssa’s oncologist and we were given an overview of what to expect as we approach transplant. We have a plan, as firm as a plan can be. In the National Bone Marrow Registry there was a potential 10/10 matched unrelated donor, however, the person did not respond to the registry’s attempts to contact him/her. There were multiple 9/10 mismatched donors, however, the HLA marker that they were mismatched with had a less favorable chance for success. Thankfully, two umbilical cords that matched 5/6 and 6/6 were found. The issue with these is that there is a national shortage of Dextran (used to separate the stem cells from the cord blood). If Dextran did not arrive, Alyssa would have to use a mismatched 9/10 unrelated donor and possibly face graft rejection. Thank God, Penn received a shipment of Dextran on Friday! So, the final decision is to proceed with the umbilical cord stem cells. Alyssa’s oncologist stated several times that these are the best umbilical cord stem cells that Penn has ever used. After dealing with so much adversity it was finally a relief to hear such good news. Today Alyssa underwent another bone marrow biopsy. If she continues to be in remission she will be admitted to Penn on October 8th and begin chemotherapy and radiation therapy to ablate her existing bone marrow. After her treatment, the stem cells collected from the umbilical cords will be given to her. Alyssa is currently in the process of completing preadmission testing for her transplant to determine the health of her organs. She has had multiple blood tests, pulmonary function testing, and will have an echo tomorrow. Please continue to keep Alyssa and our family in your prayers as we approach the transplant date. On a side note: for those who joined the National Bone Marrow Registry, we thank you! We just ask that you please keep your commitment. It was very hard knowing and waiting for the 10/10 unrelated match to contact BetheMatch back. And it was heartbreaking to know the search was given up after several attempts of trying to contact the person. Unfortunately, this type of situation happens often. So please keep your commitment and update your information when you are contacted. You could save a life someday and in maybe cases keep a family together.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 21:51:48 +0000