The bone marrow used for autologous transplantation must be relatively free of cancer cells. The harvested marrow is often treated before transplantation with anticancer drugs in a process known as "purging" to get rid of cancer cells. This minimizes the chance of cancer coming back due to transplanting bone marrow that contains undetected cancer cells.

In this procedure, the doctor takes a sample of the patient's normally pigmented skin and places it in a laboratory dish containing a special cell culture solution to grow melanocytes. When the melanocytes in the culture solution have multiplied, the doctor transplants them to the patient's depigmented skin patches. A fairly new technology, this procedure is still in the experimental stages.

Many factors are considered when selecting an autologous or an allogeneic stem cell transplant. In general, an autologous stem cell transplant is safer and simpler than an allogeneic stem cell transplant. Autologous transplants rely completely on the efficacy of the chemotherapy and radiation ("preparative regimen") to kill the cancer cells. Since the donor and the recipient are the same (auto = you), no immunological differences exist.

Your physician may recommend autologous blood donation if there is a possibility that you may need a blood transfusion during or after your surgical procedure. Autologous (pronounced aw-TOL-o-gous) blood donation is when you donate and store your own blood prior to your surgery. During surgery, should you require a transfusion, the blood that you donated will be given back to you.

Allogeneic transplants require a matched sibling, matched unrelated donor, or cord blood product and are usually done for leukemias or certain anemias. Autolgous transplants are those where a patient donates to himself or herself. These are usually done for lymphoma, Hodgkin's Disease, multiple myeloma, and solid tumors such as breast, ovarian, and testicular cancer.

No. You must have a suitable donor. Most transplant centers will not treat you if you are older than 55 years, one center (Seattle) will accept patients up to the age of 65 years and another (M.D. Anderson) will not use transplantation as first treatment for patients older than 45 years. The chemo and radiation therapy required to destroy your marrow, prior to transplant of healthy marrow, and the drugs used to combat GVHD (graft vs host disease) places unusual stress on heart, lungs and liver.

People who have or have had some forms of cancer can be eye donors. They could be an organ and tissue donor if they have been cancer-free for at least five years.

Paper and media require different levels of protection. Paper is more durable than media and can tolerate a wide range of humidity levels and heat up to approximately 400°F before igniting. Media such as diskettes, CDs, and tapes cannot survive either the higher temperature or the humidity levels found in the paper rated products. They must be stored in an environment that will stay below 125°F and 80% humidity in order to be protected.

The identities of both the recipient and the donor family are confidential. The LifeSource coordinator sends a letter to the donor family informing them about the organ recipients such as their age and sex, and how their health has improved. Some donor families and recipients correspond anonymously. On occasion, when both sides wish to correspond directly or meet, LifeSource will help facilitate the communication or meeting.

You are not responsible for finding your own donor. If you need an unrelated donor or cord blood transplant, your primary doctor will refer you to an NMDP transplant center. Your transplant center will work with the NMDP to find a donor or cord blood unit for you. In general, we encourage patients and their immediate families to focus their energies on caring for the patient. The NMDP’s ongoing recruitment efforts add nearly 33,000 new donors to the Registry each month.

Individuals from more than 12 different states have traveled to Loyola for this life-extending oepration. Loyola has performed more than 87 percent of the lung transplants in the state of Illinois. In 2005, Loyola's transplant team performed 38 lung transplants.

The purpose of Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) and Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (PBSCT) in cancer treatment is to enable patients to receive safely very high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. High doses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy will destroy cancer cells and some healthy cells. BMT and PBSCT replace healthy stem cells that were destroyed by these treatments.

What do you think Alexandra means when she said 'We were just so fortunate that everything turned out as well as it did,' 'We were surrounded by the best of the best.'

The best donors are tissue-matched close relatives (brothers, sisters, parents). About 30% of patients in the USA will have such potential donors. The next-best choice is a tissue-matched volunteer unrelated donor. Using the large international panels such donors can be found for about 30% of patients in the USA although it is more difficult to find such donors for members of certain ethnic groups. It takes several months to search for and arrange the use of a volunteer unrelated donor.

In 1954, a kidney was transplanted form a healthy 23-year-old identical twin to his brother, who had chronic kidney failure. Get the facts | Donor card | Volunteer | Stories of hope | Events calendar | Links/partners | About us | Hospitals

No. Identifying information is never exchanged between a cord blood donor and a cord blood transplant recipient.

No. Confidentiality is always maintained except in the case of living donors, where transplants are done within the same family. Recipients may write letters of gratitude, which will be passed on and are really appreciated by the donor family.

This Web site takes every precaution to protect our users' information. When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information (such as credit card number and/or social security number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the industry - SSL.

The Public health Agency strongly recommends that you obtain an individual risk assessment with a travel medicine physician or your family physician to determine both your risk of exposure to malaria and your need for appropriate preventive anti-malarial treatment as determined by your travel itinerary and medical history. In general, two important measures can help prevent malaria infection: avoiding mosquito bites and using EFFECTIVE antimalaria medication.

USDA is committed to integrity in all of its nutrition assistance programs, and has put special emphasis on the Food Stamp Program because of its size and importance. However, in a program as large as the Food Stamp Program, it may be inevitable that some people will try to cheat the system. The Department has already taken a number of steps to make it easier to catch and punish people who misuse food stamp benefits.

During any surgical procedure there involves a process of healing, medically known as fibrosis and commonly referred to as scarring. Unlike other invasive procedures, hair transplant surgery is virtually undetectable. The area where the donor is extracted is sutured together producing a thin, pencil-like scar line, which is covered by existing hair. Like all scars, even this very thin line will improve over time

Bone taken from a patient's hip (autograft) is considered the gold standard in terms of bone graft. It possesses three properties that help to promote bony fusion. It provides a bony architecture where bone can grow, it possesses precursor cells that can form into bone cells, and it contains proteins that stimulate cells to make bone. In contrast, donor bone only provides a bony scaffold where bone can grow.

For individuals with a past history of cancer (this generally means being cancer free for many years), it is possible to become a donor. Each case is given a full medical evaluation to determine the health of the donor at their time of death.

The decision to transplant a patient's liver is made in consultation with all individuals involved in the patient's care, including the patient, referring physician, and the patient's family. The patient and family's input is vital in this decision making process; they must clearly understand the risks involved in proceeding to transplantation and the post transplant care.

After being treated with high-dose anticancer drugs and/or radiation, the patient receives the bone marrow or PBSCs through a central venous catheter, a flexible tube that is placed in a large vein in the neck or chest area. This part of the transplant is called the "rescue process."

The time a patient spends on the waiting list for an organ transplant can vary from a few days to several years. The length of their wait is affected by several factors, such as the urgency of their medical condition and the availability of donated organs. Tissue banks have a very limited supply of donated skin, bone, heart valves, tendons and corneas. All patients awaiting an organ or tissue transplant depend upon the generosity of donors and their families to give the gift of life.

Not always, however, it is very important to see diagnosticians at major cancer treatment centers. What we believe is important for the cancer patient, is not only to work with a highly knowledgeable, brilliant doctor, but also one who is compassionate and willing to listen to the cancer patient. Moreover, we recommend clients search out the oncologist who is willing to try the unusual, in other words someone who can function as a "gourmet chef of oncology".

No. The law protects the identity of both the donor and transplant recipient. The Donor Coordinator will be able to give the donor family information on the progress of patients who received the donated organs and tissue and arrange exchange of anonymous correspondence between the parties but they cannot give out the names or any identifying details.

After your primary doctor refers you to an NMDP transplant center, your transplant center will work with the NMDP to find a donor or cord blood unit for you. Your transplant center will request more tests to see if a potential donor or cord blood unit is a suitable match. Sometimes more testing shows that potential donors or cord blood units do not match you at all the details or markers your center requires. Your transplant center will also look at other information.