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Old Thu May 16, 2013, 01:55 PM
Neil Cuadra Neil Cuadra is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 2,553
leesa,

You've got all the right questions, but the answers aren't easy. You'll find a number of discussions here about the transplant decision. You're certainly not alone in facing the choice of a transplant or further drug treatment.

It's great that your mother is in good health and has matched siblings. That's what gives you this choice. It's just too bad that the best choice of treatment isn't obvious.

Are you satisfied that your mother's doctor is giving you enough information, including explanations for his or her recommendations? Have you considered getting a second opinion about the appropriate treatment? Would the transplant be a "mini-transplant" with less chemo/radiation then a full transplant?

I know I'm asking questions instead of answering them but I can address one issue you asked about. Other things being equal, male donors are preferred to female donors who have ever been pregnant. One trend we hear about sometimes is that doctors may prefer a young perfectly matched unrelated donor to an older related donor. It's worth asking if that applies here or if it's clear that a sibling would be preferred.
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