Category Archives: Stem Cell Transplant

GOLTRY, Okla. Armed with stem cells, a Goltry area woman will be heading to Milwaukee next week to join in her brothers cancer fight. Jeni Sumner was the only match among family members tested to donate stem cells to her younger brother, Ed Dee. To me, Ive been given a gift. I know everybodys congratulating me and saying its a wonderful thing, and not taking it away from that, but I think Ive been given just a tremendous gift, Sumner said. Along with helping her brother, Sumner is trying to encourage others to join the bone marrow donor registry. I think a lot of people are afraid to join because they might get called, because they dont know what its like to be a donor, she said. I want more people to become aware of what its actually like to be a donor. Sumner set up a Facebook page It Doesnt Hurt - To Save a Life to chronicle everything she will go through, as a donor, during the procedure. Its an unknown for me, but its nothing compared to what my brothers going through, she said. I know the feeling that I got when I got the call from … Continue reading →

Are Novel Agents as Good as Stem Cell Transplant in Multiple Myeloma? For many patients, the decision about whether to have a stem cell transplant will be one of the largest of their journey with multiple myeloma. With novel ag... By: Patient Power … Continue reading →

A haploidentical or half-matched stem cell transplantation has succeeded in saving the life of a 59-year-old patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) that was resistant to all other treatments. The donor was his 25-year-old son. The procedure was done over a month ago at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences here and the patient has now been stepped down from the intensive care unit. The patient from Thiruvananthapuram had a relapse of myelodysplastic syndrome transformed into AML. As the search for a complete match of stem cell did not yield any results, the patient was ready for the half-match procedure. The haploidentical procedure is more complex and expensive. The procedure is not hi-tech but more care-oriented, said Dr. Neeraj Sidharthan, who led a team of experts from haematology, medical oncology, transfusion medicine and other allied departments. The haploidentical stem cell transplantation is much more expensive and the survival rates are said to be 25-30 per cent compared to the identical stem cell transplantation that has a survival rate of 60-70 per cent. However, the haploidentical cases were likely to grow as the chances of getting an identical match of stem cell were extremely limited, said Dr. Neeraj. China, which has … Continue reading →

TOKYO: A Japanese stem cell scientist, under pressure over inconsistencies in her groundbreaking research, has agreed to retract one of the two papers published in the respected journal Nature, reports said Thursday. Haruko Obokata, 30, was feted after unveiling research that appeared to show a straightforward way to re-programme adult cells to become a kind of stem cell. Stem cells are precursors that are capable of developing into any other cell in the human body, and a readily manufacturable supply of them could one day help meet a need for transplant tissues, or even whole organs. But within weeks of her paper on so-called Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency (STAP) cells being published, questions began to emerge, with fellow scientists saying they could not replicate her results. Riken, the respected research institute that sponsored the study, has urged her to withdraw her two papers, after concluding that she fabricated at least some of the data. Obokata has agreed with her co-authors to a partial retraction, saying: "I don't oppose withdrawing one of the" papers, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kyodo News and other media. But her lawyer said that she won't withdraw the main paper, and insists she successfully created STAP … Continue reading →

Evolution of an Angler My children, Sarah and Ryan, made me promise that when I beat the cancer I was better from the chemo and stem cell transplant, that I would teach them to fish. This is a story of a promise... By: Scott Murphy … Continue reading →

Tokyo (AFP) - A Japanese stem cell scientist, under pressure over inconsistencies in her groundbreaking research, has agreed to retract one of the two papers published in the respected journal Nature, reports said Thursday. Haruko Obokata, 30, was feted after unveiling research that appeared to show a straightforward way to re-programme adult cells to become a kind of stem cell. Stem cells are precursors that are capable of developing into any other cell in the human body, and a readily manufacturable supply of them could one day help meet a need for transplant tissues, or even whole organs. But within weeks of her paper on so-called Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency (STAP) cells being published, questions began to emerge, with fellow scientists saying they could not replicate her results. Riken, the respected research institute that sponsored the study, has urged her to withdraw her two papers, after concluding that she fabricated at least some of the data. Obokata has agreed with her co-authors to a partial retraction, saying: "I don't oppose withdrawing one of the" papers, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kyodo News and other media. But her lawyer said that she won't withdraw the main paper, and insists she successfully … Continue reading →

Calgarys Village Brewery has a custom of naming its beers after the people who make up a community, with a lineup that includes a farmer, a blacksmith and a troubadour. This weekend, Village Brewerys Jim Button is looking for another addition to the family: a donor. On Saturday, June 7, Village is holding a Swab-a-Thon, an event to find a potential stem cell donor for Al Carpenter, a longtime friend of Buttons who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. The target demographic for the donor drive is men between 18 and 35, who are considered strong enough to donate their stem cells if they prove to be a match to Carpenter. Since Ive got a brewery, Ive got a pretty good idea how we could draw them in, said Button, who co-founded Village in 2011. In exchange for offering a cell sample via a quick, painless cheek swab, participants will receive a beer tasting and tour of the brewery. Of course, thats in addition to potentially saving Carpenters life and adding their name to an international network of stem cell donor registries. Canadian Blood Services, which runs the registry in this country, estimates more than 70 per … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Transplant Day "It is Finished #Since33AD" Stem Cell Transplant Day "It is Finished #Since33AD" By: Jared Rooks … Continue reading →

Joe's Song - The Nebraska Medical Center 13-year-old Joe Sanchez has battled leukemia since 2008. He relapsed three times, and has been bald over half his life. He just had a stem cell transplant and got through it! Joe's favorite... By: The Nebraska Medical Center … Continue reading →

CTV Vancouver Published Thursday, May 22, 2014 4:31PM PDT Last Updated Friday, May 23, 2014 3:33AM PDT A four-year-old Victoria girl whos already endured two kinds of cancer is in terrible pain once more, just weeks after being discharged from hospital. Hannah Days leukemia disappeared earlier this year thanks to a stem cell transplant from her mom, and the trooper tot was released from BC Childrens Hospital on May 6. Sadly, that same treatment caused a complication known as graft-versus-host disease, which has left poor Hannah with a painful rash similar to third-degree burns. My stem cells are actually attacking Hannahs body, mom Brooke Ervin told CTV News. She doesnt even want to listen to me or talk to me right now, she just spends her time screaming. Ervin said the disease, which is very common in transplant patients, has spread the itchy rashes over 90 per cent of Hannahs body. She was recently re-admitted to hospital so they could administer intravenous steroids. Shes miserable. Shes so upset, Ervin said. We cant really tell her anything, we just hope that one day this will all end. I mean, it has to this child has suffered most of her life. Fortunately, … Continue reading →