Category Archives: Stem Cell Transplant

Each day is a gift for Chris Taylor and every phone call could be the one that saves his life. Thats why the 36-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia keeps his cellphone within reach, waiting to hear that a stem cell donor has been found and hell get the bone marrow transplant he needs. Taylor, who was diagnosed in July 2012, has already had two false alarms but is confident a match will become available before its too late. Getting the call is a miracle in itself. It comes after an online search of unrelated people by the Canadian Blood Services OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network. The registry has access to 22 million potential volunteer donors in 71 countries, strangers prepared to help those like Taylor. Despite popular belief, family members are matches only 25 per cent of the time, said Mary-Lynn Pride, a patient transplant liaison specialist at OneMatch. More than 800 Canadians currently await transplants. OneMatch has more than 333,000 registered Canadian donors. Taylor signed up after a second round of chemotherapy last summer, when doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital advised he needed a bone marrow transplant. Taylor received the first call last November. The timing was … Continue reading →

Watch the video above:Leukemia patient Chris Taylor loses 2nd bone marrow transplant donor. Angie Seth reports. TORONTO A 36-year-old leukemia patient is searching for a bone marrow donor for the third time, after his first two donors backed out for medical or unknown reasons. Chris Taylor was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. He originally went to Mount Sinai hospital with chest pains and spent several days in the ICU though doctors couldnt figure out what was wrong with him, he said. But several weeks later, Princess Margaret Hospital found his cancer at the chromosomal level. HE immediately started chemotherapy and it went into remission. It came back after ten months, he said. I was starting to feel better and the side effects were starting to wear off and then the cancer came back. They found a match around Christmas of 2013, he said. They started preliminary testing and even got a proposed date but two days before, the donor pulled out. Unfortunately that donor was medically unfit to donate, Taylor said. So they went back to searching. They found another donor. We began again the process of getting ready to go in for the transplant, he said. Unfortunately for unknown … Continue reading →

TOKYO: A co-author of a Japanese study that promised a revolutionary way to create stem cells has called for the headline-grabbing research to be retracted over claims its data was faulty. The findings, published by Japanese researcher Haruko Obokata and US-based scientists, outlined a simple and low-tech approach in the quest to grow transplant tissue in the lab. The study was touted as the third great advance in stem cells -- a futuristic field that aims to reverse Alzheimer's, cancer and other crippling or lethal diseases. But it faced hard questions as the Japan-based Riken institute, which sponsored the study, launched a probe last month over the credibility of data used in the explosive findings. At issue are allegations that researchers used erroneous image data for an article published in the January edition of British journal Nature. Teruhiko Wakayama, a Yamanashi University professor who co-authored the article, called for a retraction. "It's hard to believe the findings anymore after so many mistakes in the data," he told broadcaster Nippon Television late Monday. On Tuesday, the institute said it was mulling whether to pull back the study. "We are considering whether to retract the report based on its credibility and research … Continue reading →

TOKYO: A co-author of a Japanese study that promised a revolutionary way to create stem cells has called for the headline-grabbing research to be retracted over claims its data was faulty. The findings, published by Japanese researcher Haruko Obokata and US-based scientists, outlined a simple and low-tech approach in the quest to grow transplant tissue in the lab. The study was touted as the third great advance in stem cells a futuristic field that aims to reverse Alzheimers, cancer and other crippling or lethal diseases. But it faced hard questions as the Japan-based Riken institute, which sponsored the study, launched a probe last month over the credibility of data used in the explosive findings. At issue are allegations that researchers used erroneous image data for an article published in the January edition of British journal Nature. Teruhiko Wakayama, a Yamanashi University professor who co-authored the article, called for a retraction. Its hard to believe the findings anymore after so many mistakes in the data, he told broadcaster Nippon Television late Monday. On Tuesday, the institute said it was mulling whether to pull back the study. We are considering whether to retract the report based on its credibility and research ethics, … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise SEATTLE The Fred Hutchinson Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) was recently recognized by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) for outperforming its expected one-year survival rate for allogeneic transplant patients. The results published by the CIBMTR, analyzed the National Marrow Donor Programs (NMDP) registry of 168 U.S. transplant centers over a three-year period for its 2013 Transplant Center-Specific Survival Report. The Fred Hutchinson Bone Marrow Transplant Program at SCCA pioneered the clinical use of bone marrow and stem cell transplantation more than 40 years ago and have performed more than 14,000 bone marrow transplants more than any other institution in the world. Today, the organization is one of just 13 stem cell transplant programs nationwide that exceeded its anticipated one-year survival rate for patients undergoing allogeneic transplants. This type of transplant uses stem cells from a donor who may or may not be related to the patient. Stem cell transplants, including bone marrow transplants, are used to treat a range of leukemias and lymphomas, as well as other diseases such as severe aplastic anemia and sickle cell disease. Comparing Transplant Centers Comparing transplant … Continue reading →

By Rachel Ellis PUBLISHED: 19:27 EST, 3 March 2014 | UPDATED: 19:27 EST, 3 March 2014 562 shares 7 View comments After five rounds of gruelling chemotherapy in almost 20 years, Sarah Wilkins was told by doctors the treatment was no longer working. The 39-year-old single mother had become resistant to all the different types of chemotherapy she'd received. After her fifth round of chemo, and a stem cell transplant, last October Sarah learned that her cancer - Hodgkin's lymphoma, which affects blood cells - was back. 'It was a terrible moment,' she recalls. BEFORE AND AFTER: Scans of Ian Brooks's body show the treatment's effect After her very first round of chemotherapy, Sarah was in remission for 12 years. Since then, the cancer has kept returning every two to three years. Each time, she underwent a different combination to attack the tumours. See the article here: As photos show how 70 tumours in one patient vanished in 12 weeks... The anti-cancer missiles that target tumours ... … Continue reading →

MARY'S HOME! My precious friend, Mary has been at MD Anderson for months getting a stem cell transplant. Leukemia will not stop her! She is a miracle! This was her day to... By: Lisa Bain … Continue reading →

Cambridge Times CAMBRIDGE The family of four-year-old Katie Herron is anxiously waiting to find out if chemotherapy was successful enough to put her into remission and give her a chance at the stem cell transplant that could save her life. The Cambridge girl, who is facing cancer for the second time, is in Toronto Sick Kids hospital fighting for her life after normally successful treatments didnt beat her childhood leukemia. Herrons only hope is to receive a stem cell transplant, but she desperately needs to find a donor match first. Its hoped that chances of finding a potential donor will increase thanks to a stem cell donor clinic scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 22). The clinic will run from 1 to 5 p.m. at Cambridge Sports Park, located at the corner of Franklin Boulevard and Can-Amera Parkway. The Herron family is encouraging residents to come to the clinic and register as a donor with OneMatch, which co-ordinates the worldwide registry. Registering as a donor is a simple as a swab of the cheek. However, even if a match is found, the four-year-olds fatigued body still needs to get healthy enough to have the procedure. Herron continues to undergo a battery of … Continue reading →

21 Feb 2014 20:33 Staffordshire toddler has life-saving bone marrow transplant after match is finally found Parents of a brave toddler battling leukaemia hailed a stem-cell donor their hero as their daughter received a life-saving bone marrow transplant. Vicky and Yaser Martini, from Essington, Staffordshire, launched a huge internet campaign to find a match for 18-month-old Margot after she was diagnosed with two types of the cancer last October. An estimated 40,000 people have requested donor packs from charity Delete Blood Cancer since the appeal, which has been backed by celebrities Stephen Fry, Gary Barlow and former Wolves hero Steve Bull. Margot underwent a two-hour bone marrow transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on Friday after a stem cell donor match, said to be from outside the UK, was confirmed earlier this month. The toddler napped contentedly in her pram as the stem cells were administered via a Hickman line in her chest said dad Yaser. This young chap has done this selfless and benevolent thing. Frankly, he is my hero, he added. I am watching it as it happens. It is quite something. Margot Martini, with her brothers Rufus and Oscar, her dad Yaser and mum Vicky … Continue reading →

A new study describes the complexity of the new T cell repertoire following immune-depleting therapy to treat multiple sclerosis, improving our understanding of immune tolerance and clinical outcomes. In the Immune Tolerance Network's (ITN) HALT-MS study, 24 patients with relapsing, remitting multiple sclerosis received high-dose immunosuppression followed by a transplant of their own stem cells, called an autologous stem cell transplant, to potentially reprogram the immune system so that it stops attacking the brain and spinal cord. Data published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation quantified and characterized T cell populations following this aggressive regimen to understand how the reconstituting immune system is related to patient outcomes. ITN investigators used a high-throughput, deep-sequencing technology (Adaptive Biotechnologies, ImmunoSEQTM Platform) to analyze the T cell receptor (TCR) sequences in CD4+ and CD8+ cells to compare the repertoire at baseline pre-transplant, two months post-transplant and 12 months post-transplant. Using this approach, alongside conventional flow cytometry, the investigators found that CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes exhibit different reconstitution patterns following transplantation. The scientists observed that the dominant CD8+ T cell clones present at baseline were expanded at 12 months post-transplant, suggesting these clones were not effectively eradicated during treatment. In contrast, the dominant CD4+ T … Continue reading →