Hi Honey
Welcome from a fellow Aussie. It's a big shock to be diagnosed with MDS isn't it. I'm sure all of us vividly remember that and empathise with you.
Australia doesn't have "centres of excellence" for MDS that I know of. The major hospitals in each state would unofficially fall into that category though. I see a private haematologist in Sydney where I was living when diagnosed and she referred me to the Royal North Shore Hospital BMT specialist when I was seriously ill in 2011. I have found both specialists to be excellent. I'm pretty sure Lenalidomide is available via drug trials. Have you been advised about accessing them? I personally am avoiding using any drugs until I have to but I have a different variety of the disease from you.
My best advice would be to do as much research for yourself as you can. There is a lot of information on the web. If you haven't visited it yet, the Aplastic Anaemia and MDS International Foundation website is very helpful -
http://www.aamds.org/about/MDS - and even Wikipedia has a surprisingly detailed webpage on MDS.
Re the BMT/SCT yes there are major risks attached and you need to go into this with your eyes wide open. However age is on your side. GVHD (Graft Versus Host Disease) is one of the biggest risks, and sadly we have had people on this forum this year pass away from GVHD after a successful engraftment. Take a list of questions with you when you visit your specialist. This Mayo Clinic document has some suggestions:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/myel...l&METHOD=print
I wish you all the very best as you continue to learn more and to make major decisions about your treatment.
God bless
Cheryl