Hi Candace,
Hopefully your son won't need to go to transplant but knowledge is power. Once we decided to pursue transplant, the BMT doc already knew of 3 potential donors - 2 cord blood units and one adult. We were told about the various mismatches of each and were told to go home and think about which source we would like to secure. Because the mismatch with the adult was less serious than that of the cords, we went with the adult. From that point, we were admitted for BMT in 8 weeks. It does very much depend on how long it takes to contact the donor, how quickly he or she can drop things and get their labs and physical done and whether or not they are healthy enough to donate.
I encourage you to speak your mind to your son's doctor and let him know what your expectations are. Your son is 5 months out from ATG now and it would be prudent to have the next steps planned out. A donor search should be done now, in my opinion. My greatest concern is his ongoing dips in ANC below 500. Your son cannot afford to get a fungal infection and the longer he sits below 500, the higher the risk.
Dr. David Margolis at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin has fixed many kids with AA through BMT and ATG. He's the pediatric expert and if you send him an email and include your phone number, he would likely get back to you ASAP. I consulted with him many times, even though we are up here in Canada. I don't know how easy it would be for you to temporarily relocate to Milwaukee, but I can tell you he'd likely see your son and secure a donor (if he felt it was the treatment of choice) in no time flat. I've met up with him several times at AA conferences and he is just wonderful.
Time is ticking, you son still needs red cell transfusions and his ANC is in the risky zone. At this point, you need to know what's next.
Dr. Margolis:
http://www.chw.org/Applications/PPF/...ysHomePage.asp