[mausmish]

My doctor is the department chair at Hopkins and is very excited about their progress with haplo transplants. Before i found a donor, he assured me that a haplo would be no problem even with an older donor.

Luckily I ended up with a fully matched unrelated donor. However, I did participate in the post transplant Cytoxan trial to prevent GvHD without the use of other drugs (Dr. Leo Luznik, whom I adore), and am happy to be one of their success stories thus far. I'm more than 7 months post transplant and have not had to take any immunosuppresants, anti-rejection drugs, or steroids - just prophylactic anti-virals and antibiotics plus antinausea and anti-reflux meds. My presumed (nothing confirmed) GvHD has been very minimal, in my hematologist's words, "the perfect amount [for the graft vs. Leukemia effect]." I had the Cytoxan for only two days after the transplant. I have dry eyes and mouth and hyper-pigmeted/mottled skin on my neck and back. My liver enzymes are slightly elevated. That's about it. I was skeptical but am so glad now that I did the trial.